Ashiteru
by katthecat12
Summary: SasuSaku smut, lemons, and anything else you can think of like that. Kiba's dare to Sasuke to 'do it' with Sakura turns into something of a wild adventure full of tears, love, laughs, and life. WARNING: EXTREME ADULT CONTENT! SasuSaku
1. Here's Your Mission

**Disclaimer:** I DO NOT own Naruto

Well this is my first time writing a one-shot smut/lemon writing. So tell me how I do =) please R&R!!!!!! ^_^

And if I like this one-shot enough I might very well make it into a story! So let me know! ;D

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_**Campfire**_

Sakura was walking down the street towards the hokage's office because she had been summoned for some sort of mission according to Naruto. Sakura opened the door to the Hokage's office noticing some other figures in there as well.

"You're late Sakura. You're lucky that I absolutely need you on this mission or I'd have sent them off without you" Tsunade snapped at her pupil.

Sakura lowered her head then said "sorry lady Tsunade, I had a few things to take care of."

Tsunade just nodded then continued with the briefing "you all will be doing a recon mission. I'm sending two platoons, each with a medic-nin for assistance if someone becomes injured. You're to find out info on Akatsuki members who have crossed the fire nation's borders as soon as possible. Remember you all are Anbu, failure is _not_ an option. You are not to return until you either find new information good enough to present, or you find evidence that they never crossed our borders and there's no threat. You're dismissed."

The eight ninjas left the room. Sakura looked around and saw Naruto, Shikamaru, Neji, Kiba, Ino, Sasuke, and Shino. Sakura blushed at the thought of doing a mission with Sasuke. He'd been back for almost a year, but she hadn't gotten the chance to do a mission with him.

The two 4-man cells stood in front of Shikamaru and he narrowed his eyes formulating the best and most balanced squads. He scratched the back of his head then muttered "troublesome…"

Sasuke grunted then said "so who's on what squad?"

Shikamaru put on his game face then said "we have two hard hitters, Naruto and Sasuke. So Sasuke you're on squad one, and Naruto you're on squad two. Then we have two scouts, Kiba and Shino. Shino you're on squad one, and Kiba you're on squad two."

Shikamaru was cut off by a protest from Kiba "why do I have to work with a bone-head like Naruto?!?!?!"

Shikamaru sighed a "troublesome" then stated bluntly "you and Akamaru add power to a team by being two separate entities that act as one, doubling an average person's power. I'm trying to balance out the squads sense Sasuke is powerful on his own, that's why I'm adding extra power to squad two."

Naruto rolled his eyes at how Shikamaru was stating how 'powerful' Sasuke was.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes then continued with "then we have the brains, me and Neji. I'll be operating with squad one, and Neji you'll work with squad two."

Neji nodded in agreement then walked towards the loud blond and territorial Kiba. He shook his head knowing he was going to get a massive headache, but he never complained and always followed orders so he just sucked it up.

Shikamaru eyed the two females left without a team, both with blank faces.

He sighed then said "and now we finally have our medic-nins, Sakura you're going with squad one. Ino, go to squad two."

Sakura smiled on the inside knowing she'd be on the same team as Sasuke. Both platoons worked together, but in case of having to split up, you needed to already have an even divide between the two. Shikamaru was the captain of both platoons this time around sense they were getting info on Akatsuki and he had the brains for this sort of mission.

"move" he ordered calmly.

With that, all the Anbu rushed forward jumping into the trees then from branch to branch at incredible speed. They naturally formed their own formations, and Sasuke wound up next to Sakura. She blushed but remained silent. Sasuke noticed her then eyed her and how much she'd grown sense they were just kids when he left. He noticed the tints of pink on her cheeks matching her hair and smirked inwardly.

They were headed to the fire temple to check if Akatsuki had made another little pit stop there like they did before. But halfway there someone had set off a chain of paper bombs that was set.

"TAKE COVER!!!!" Shikamaru yelled over all the gasps of surprise and shrieks of terror (from Ino and Sakura, they boys didn't shriek hahahaha).

Sakura was about to land on a branch, but it exploded, so she started falling towards the ground. She braced herself for impact and closed her eyes but a pair of strong arms caught her and quickly jumped out of the way of falling, flaming tree branches and took refuge in a rock cavern.

When she opened her eyes she found her face in the crook of someone's neck who had their arms wrapped around her. She didn't have a clue who it was until strands of charcoal hair tickled her cheeks. Her eyes widened and she shot up hugging herself and bowed stuttering "gomen Sasuke-kun. I didn't mean to be a bother."

Sasuke raised a brow at her weird behavior then said "get down. It's a chain of bombs. It's not over ye-"

He was cut off by more explosions that shook the ground as Sakura stumbled from loosing her balance and landed back in Sasuke's arms.

"sorry… for everything…" he whispered under his breath in her ear.

Sakura's eyes widened, but she snuggled closer to him, smiled, then said "took you long enough."

Sasuke rolled his eyes then rested his head on top of hers through the constant explosion. How many freaking paper bombs did Akatsuki set?!

When five minutes had passed without a sound Sasuke stood up and helped Sakura up along with him. The two walked towards the mouth of the cave. Sasuke suddenly stopped then extended his arm in front of her. Sakura looked at him quizzically then suddenly was tackled by him.

"The hell-?!" she shrieked, but then the cave started to shake and crumble apart.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and said "stay still and completely under me."

Sakura blushed a little then Sasuke made some hand signs and formed a whole body chidori. Sakura flinched expecting to be zapped but it only affected the rocks that were landing on him. They were instantly disintegrated by the lightning technique. When the rocks had stopped falling Sasuke helped Sakura up then stated "it was an aftershock from all the explosions."

Sakura just shook her head then followed Sasuke out of the collapsed cave. They met up with the others who were regrouped outside of the explosive range. Shikamaru accounted for any injuries or casualties, but there were none.

Sasuke smirked then said "we're Anbu aren't we? Why would a little firecracker of a pyrotechnics display affect _us_?"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes muttering a "troublesome."

Everyone else regrouped with their respective squads and took off again. The sun was setting and the explosives had definitely delayed their mission, so Shikamaru stopped everyone and ordered them to make camp for the night.

"But we can still go further can't we?!" Naruto protested.

Shikamaru shook his head then said "look at Sakura."

Naruto softened his faze at the half eyed figure slouched over leaning partially on Sasuke. He was upset to see Sakura so tired, but mad that she was leaning on _Sasuke_, who apparently didn't seem to mind. He just kept a stoic façade as usual.

Shikamaru turned back to Naruto then said "she was busy healing all day that it took the chakra right out of her. It would be unwise to continue this mission any further without her regaining her energy."

"We still have Ino don't' we?!" Naruto protested again.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes then said "there are two problems with that. One is that Ino isn't as strong of a medic-nin as Sakura. The second problem is that one medic-nin can't heal eight Anbus if something were to happen or go wrong."

Naruto slouched and gave up then said "what ever Shikamaru."

Everyone was gathered around the campfire except for Ino who was in her tent already and then Sakura who's managed to pitch a pretty large tent, but then again she did have more medic supplies in her tent than Ino did. Sakura's tent was also a football field away from everyone else because she was a privacy freak and didn't want to camp near a bunch of men. She and Ino were the only girls on the eight man mission they were sent to do.

The boys were gathered around the campfire and decided to play a good ol' game of truth or dare. It was Kiba's turn to dare someone and of course he picked the Uchiha. Sasuke had an ego, so he always picked dare.

Kiba smirked wickedly then said "I dare you to go 'do it' with Sakura-chan, right now."

Everyone gasped and Shikamaru muttered a "troublesome" along with Naruto's outburst of "NO WAY IN HELL IS THEME GOING TO DO THAT!!!!!!!!!"

Kiba smirked and looked at Sasuke who had a "you've got to be kidding me" expression written all over his face.

Sasuke would never admit it out loud, but he'd had feelings for Sakura ever sense he laid eyes on her at the beginning of their mission.

Sasuke shrugged then said "it's the rules of the game. If you want to be mad at someone then be mad at Kiba for giving me this stupid dare."

Naruto had steam coming out of his ears as he pounded Kiba's face yelling "YOU BASTARD!!!!"

Then Neji was yelling "let him go Naruto!!" trying to peel the said boy off his comrade.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and walked out to Sakura's tent a football field away. He took a deep breath then walked in to see Sakura rubbing her eyes sitting up. Apparently Naruto's yelling was so loud that it woke Sakura up from that far away.

Sakura blinked a few times then looked at Sasuke with a confused expression. She grew even more confused as he tossed his Anbu cloak and mask to the side of the tent.

"uh… Sasuke-ku-"

She was cut off by him lips forcefully locking onto hers.

He was on top of her while she was laying in her sleeping bag. He ripped the sleeping bag open to reveal her in her Anbu outfit as well minus the mask, cape, shoes, and arm armor.

He leaned down on top of her and whispered in her ear "don't hate me for this"

Sakura giggled then said "why would I?"

Sasuke took a deep breath then stopped himself from saying anything further. He didn't want her to know that the 'main' reason for him doing this was because he was dared by Kiba, even though he did care about her. If it weren't for Kiba's dare he would've at least waited until they got back from their mission to make a move.

Sasuke undid her Abu chest armor and slid it off as he did the same. He slowly discarded her of all her Anbu gear leaving her in her underwear, and the same for him.

He forcefully kissed her and licked her lower lip causing her to moan in his mouth. She opened her mouth wider allowing his tongue entrance and the two muscles fought for dominance.

Sasuke pressed his erection onto her causing her to shutter. He smirked and bit her pulse causing her to moan louder the run her hands through his raven locks. He pulled her into a sitting position straddling his lap as they sat on the sleeping bag. He aggressively ran a hand down her outer thigh causing her to moan louder as he undid her bra strap leaving her in only her panties.

He sucked on her neck then slowly made his way down to her breast and blew a cold gust of wind across it causing Sakura to shutter before he latched his mouth onto it. He ran his tongue in a circle around the peak and messaged the unoccupied mound.

Sakura was moaning "S-Sasuke-k-kun… Sas-uke…k-ku-kun…" over and over as he kept up the rhythm. Then he went back to her lips and she moaned in his mouth making him even more turned on.

Sakura decided to take the reigns and flipped the Uchiha onto his back. He smirked and raised a brow as she slid his boxers off revealing him in all his glory. She slid down and began giving him a hand job keeping a steady pace and then took over with her mouth. The Uchiha closed his eyes and grunted with pleasure as he trusted upwards forcing himself down Sakura's throat. Sakura almost gagged but she stopped herself when he came in her mouth. She greedily drank of every drop and withdrew her mouth to look up at the panting Uchiha.

"my turn" he said while grinning sheepishly.

Sakura was startled when she was flipped under him. He was quick. He stroked her inner thigh as she moaned and closed her eyes avoiding his gaze. He slowly slid off her laced underwear noticing how much she'd soaked herself, all the way through her underwear at that. He pressed his two fingers vertically in her crease over her opening.

Sasuke bent down and whispered in her ear "you're so _fucking_ wet" and flicked her ear lobe with his tongue.

She shuttered. He smirked.

Sasuke then slid down and put her knees over his shoulders as he ran his tongue in circles around her entrance. She moaned louder and louder until he plunged his tongue into her and began tongue fucking her. She was arching her back, begging him to take more of her in. Sasuke was almost done licking up what was there until she moaned the loudest she'd been moaning and he felt her walls contract around his tongue as more juice covered his tongue. Sasuke pulled his tongue out and kissed her allowing her to taste herself.

"sweet" she said smiling.

Sasuke began kissing her while running his finger around her entrance and stuck two inside of her. She arched her back and moaned as he reclaimed her lips causing her to continue the moan in his mouth. He slid his fingers in until he was down to his knuckles, then he felt something and blushed. She was still a virgin.

Sakura blushed two then said "please…… don't stop…."

Sasuke's eyes looked off to the side for a moment until he claimed her lips once more. He put his unoccupied hands on one of her mounds messaging it as he slid a third finger inside of her. She moaned in his mouth as he felt her walls contracting around his fingers.

Sasuke decided he was done playing with her and pulled his fingers out holding them in between their faces. He licked off the juices, smirked, and said "tastes like strawberries"

Sakura blushed then stuck his fingers in her mouth causing him to blush. She pulled his fingers out then said "it does"

Sasuke shook his head smirking then reclaimed her lips. He rubbed her inner thing causing her to move around under his touch. He smirked against her lips at this control he seemed to have. And he let his guard down. She flipped him over so she was sitting on top of him. She smiled as she crashed her lips into his making him grunt in her mouth.

Sasuke placed a hand on each of her hips then lifted her so her seeping sex was over his. Sakura was blushing furiously as he just held her there. She could feel his membrane poking at her.

"you decide how far in you want to go" he said as he didn't move a muscle.

Sakura bit her lower lip then dropped herself down and took him in all the way, down to the hilt. She gasped in ecstasy and Sasuke's eyes widened at her action. He didn't know that she'd just take him in all the way from the start. Especially sense this was her first time. It was his too, but for a guy it wasn't so big of a deal.

Sasuke sat up and wrapped his arms around her comfortingly knowing that what she did was probably causing her a lot of physical pain. Sakura was quivering as she was getting used to him being inside her.

"why did you do that?" Sasuke hissed in her ear.

"because I'm not afraid" she answered him as she raised herself up a little and slamming herself back down.

Sasuke grunted in pleasure and placed a hand on each side of her waist helping her up and down. Sakura was moaning as Sasuke seemed to be thrusting upwards to, adding to her pain. She wouldn't tell him it hurt though, because the pleasure outweighed the pain. She was sure of it. Sasuke stopped her 'bouncy'ness and claimed her lips then broke the kiss leaning his forehead on hers.

"do you still have stamina?" he asked

Sakura smirked then said "of course I do."

Sasuke sighed then said "you know were still on a mission. What if the enemy attacks us? Right this second?"

Sakura bit her lip then nodded as Sasuke lifted her off him pulling out. Sakura gasped at the sudden withdrawal and was about to fall over sideways from the 'work out' she'd gotten but a pair of strong arms pulled her back up and cradled her.

"Ashiteru… Sasuke-kun" Sakura whispered as her eyes closed.

"Ashiteru" he replied while putting her clothing back on, and his as well.

The whole scene had taken about an hour, so he didn't know if everyone was still at the campfire. He stayed by Sakura's side though until she fell asleep, then walked back out of the tent towards the campfire again.


	2. Shitakaburri

Well I guess I'm never going to make a "one-shot" for real hahaha I just had to continue this story. It's too good to go to waste. I hope that ya'll like where I go with it =)

I guess uploading two chapters in one day isn't a crime haha =) I hope I get to work on my other ones though. Because I can't work on "Love Like This" until my dad gets back from visiting my dying grandma ='( we only had enough money to send him. Because it's his mom after all, but my fanfic is on his Mac computer that's pass worded and he doesn't get back for a week =((( but I can work on my other three anyway. I hope you like what I've done with this one!!!

(And for those of you who are Christian like me, prayers for my grandma are much appreciated. She's an avid smoker and she's been on oxygen for a while and now got hospitalized. She's hardly able to speak at all, and has trouble staying awake. In short she's bordering on being comatose. Thanks for your prayers! ^_^)

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**Camp Fire**

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Sakura woke up dazed, but somewhat… nice? She couldn't explain the feeling she was having as she put her Anbu mask and cloak back on. She was certain that something wasn't right, but at the same time she was happy. She remembered last night and realized… it wasn't a dream. Sasuke had really made love to her last night.

_He really __**is**__ a sex god._ She laughed mentally

Sasuke was in his respective tent near the campfire. When he had left Sakura's tent last night, there was no one at the campfire anymore, they'd all gone to sleep, so he had done the same. He put his Anbu cloak and mask on and walked out to see a pink haired medic-nin walking very sluggishly.

Sasuke stealthily walked up beside her and asked "you okay?"

Sakura just nodded as the two walked towards the rest of the squad.

Shikamaru was wide awake that morning as he said "today… we might be dealing with Akatsuki… so you better be on top guard."

Everyone nodded as Shikamaru continued with "fan out and search this area and regroup back here in one hour, pick a partner to take along with you and signal for backup if you spot them."

Everyone nodded and Sakura knew who her partner was, and so did Sasuke, so the two didn't need to say anything. They flew up into the trees and out of sight and so did the other Anbus as soon as they had a partner.

Sasuke kept an eye on Sakura out of the corner of his eye, and his vigilance paid off. Sakura's lethargic behavior kicked in and she seemed to have passed out. Sasuke plunged after her skidding along the ground as he caught her. He kept his nonchalant façade, but underneath he was worried and panicking about what was wrong with her.

_Did I do something to her on accident last night?..._ he questioned himself mentally.

Sasuke picked her up in his arms and took her back to the meet up point. There was no way he could just search for Akatsuki members without her. He was powerful, but not powerful enough to take on two of them at once by himself.

"Where's Sakura-chan?!?!?!" Naruto asked teary eyed as he and Neji had arrived back to the base five minutes early.

Naruto had assumed that she was dead or something sense she wasn't standing right next to Sasuke when they got back.

Sasuke rolled his eyes then pointed over his shoulder to a tree saying "there"

Naruto squinted then saw a figure hunched over under the tree barfing.

"What the hell happened?!?!?!" Naruto shrieked glaring at Sasuke.

Sasuke shrugged and said "I don't know. Right when we got out there she practically passed out then started puking so I brought her back."

Naruto crossed his arms and said "should we help? Doesn't she know what the hell's wrong with her?!"

"No. Medic-nins can't diagnose themselves, it's weird, but they just can't" Neji cut in then added "we have to wait until Ino gets here."

Eventually everyone was back at the base including Ino who saw Sakura and immediately ran over and helped the girl into the nearest tent. Sasuke stood right outside the tent listening to the two girls.

"What happened forehead?!" Ino shrieked.

"I… d-don't know…" Sakura whispered.

"Well hold still I'm going to check"

Ino's hands turned green as she hovered over Sakura's body like a metal detector. Her hands abruptly landed over Sakura's abdomen, and Ino's eyes widened. Ino stopped the flow of the green chakra in her hands then whispered to her friend. Silent tears streamed down Sakura's face and she bolted out of the tent to find Sasuke standing right by it.

"I… we… we need to talk." Sakura stuttered avoiding his gaze.

Sasuke grunted then grabbed her wrist and drug her off into the woods away from everyone else. Sakura knew Ino would be a good distraction until they got back, so she just followed Sasuke until they were a mile away from everyone else.

"Nani?" he asked.

"Uh-um… well…"

"Spit it out Haruno"

Sakura cringed at his cold tone of voice then let tears roll down her face as she said "I'm pregnant…"

Sasuke silently smiled to himself and cheered inwardly. Even though he wasn't married to her, he'd always wanted a family. Plus he knew that Sakura would make the best mother out of all the women in Konoha. He wanted to say something… _anything_… but he knew it wouldn't make anything less traumatizing for her, so he just took her in his arms and hugged her.

Sakura continued to cry with mixed emotions of happiness and fear. She didn't know if Sasuke would just leave her sense he wasn't married to her, but she just told herself to have confidence and face the facts if necessary.

"They're going to start searching for us" Sasuke said quietly while he held Sakura in his arms.

"I know" she said as she broke the embrace and started to head back down towards the base without even sparing Sasuke a sideways glance.

Sasuke was tempted to just grab her wrist and keep her there, but he thought better and just followed behind her. He was admiring the back of her head, as strange as it was. He was happy to see that she'd grown her hair back out, it suited her better than short hair. He also noticed how she'd fully gained her 'hour-glass' womanly figure.

"You two done with your love-dovey confessions?" Kiba teased.

Sakura blushed furiously, and Sasuke just scowled indifferently as the rest of the Anbus burst out into laughter, then listened to Shikamaru as he said "I got a messenger bird from Lady Hokage. She said that this whole Akatsuki thing was a false alarm. The source the information came from was found to be disreputable, so we can head home now."

Half of the Anbus erupted into cheers and the other half let out sighs of relief. They were finally headed home, and in one piece too.

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The Hokage apologized to the Anbus she'd sent out on the Akatsuki goose chase. When she'd finished they all started to walk out.

"Sakura, I want you to stay for a minute." Tsunade said with a concerned sort of look on her features.

Sasuke froze for a second giving Sakura a concerned glance to side. Sakura just smiled and nodded as if to say 'it's okay, go on without me, I'll catch up.'

After all the other Anbus were out of the room and the door closed behind them Tsunade closed her eyes and asked "who's the father?"

Sakura blushed and stuttered "uh…well… Sasuke…"

Tsunade smiled then said "I want you to come in and see me in a month for a check up on my grandchild"

Sakura laughed saying "I will"

"Fine then. You're dismissed as well Haruno."

"Arigato Lady Tsunade"

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Sasuke was sitting on a park bench near the sidewalk in the shade of a cherry blossom tree enjoying the weather of summer. It was comforting to see the sun with only a few clouds in the sky. He only wished his mind could be that clear. He was uncertain about so many things that his mind seem almost like a thunderstorm.

"Sasuke-teme!!!!" Naruto yelled running down the street towards Sasuke making him withdraw from his thoughts.

"Dobe..." Sasuke muttered under his breath annoyed.

Naruto grinned goofily as he stood in front of Sasuke panting. Sasuke only raised his eyebrow in silence as if asking Naruto to 'spit it out'.

"I *huff* want *huff* to be *huff huff* the *huff* godfather!!!" Naruto yelled in between pants.

Sasuke's face suddenly turned dark and said "I don't know how you found out about that, but there's no way in hell I'm making _you_ the godfather of my child."

Naruto idioughticly pouted bulging his lower lip out saying "Sakura told me about it, and she wouldn't let me either. So I thought that my best friend would let me but I guess I should've thought better huh?"

Just as Sasuke stood up to walk past Naruto to avoid his childish antics, Sakura came running up to them panting as well.

"WHAT THE *huff* HELL *huff huff* IS WRONG * huff* WITH YOU?!?!?!?!" Sakura yelled at the top of her lounges trying to catch her breath.

Sasuke just raised a brow at her and knew that they both had been running, but Naruto had already caught his breath and said "please Sakura-chan!!! Please PLEASE _**PLEASE**_?!?!?!? With fish cakes on top?!?!?!"

Sakura had caught her breath and yelled "right after I told you 'no' you just took off running like a chakra infused kunai!! What the hell's wrong with you?!?!"

Naruto chibi pouted as Sasuke said "if you're the godfather of my child I'm going to disown it."

Sakura's eyes widened in horror for a moment, until she realized Sasuke wasn't serious. And even if he was, he'd make sure to keep Naruto from being the godfather, even if it killed him.

Sakura just trudged away from the two bickering rivals avoiding getting mixed up in a possible 'rasengan vs. chidori' brawl.

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Sasuke and Naruto were glaring fiercely for who knows how long until Naruto's ADD kicked in and he asked "hey where's Sakura-chan? She was here just a moment ago…"

Sasuke looked around too joining in the lack of attention span Naruto was experiencing.

Sasuke just grunted then said "don't worry I'll find her but you're still not the godfather…"

Naruto pouted.

"and one other thing" Sasuke added turning his head towards Naruto.

Naruto perked up and looked at his friend with a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

"Shut-up about Sakura being pregnant. Don't make her suffer strange looks longer than she has to. We can keep people from noticing for at least two months… you say a word to _anyone_ and I'll kill you. I don't even know why the hell she told you in the first place."

Naruto scratched the back of his head grinning goofily saying "because were close team-mates?"

Sasuke just rolled his eyes and walked off to go find Sakura.

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Sakura was sitting at the edge of the dock out over the lake with her ninja sandals next to her skimming the surface of the water with her one of her big toes. The other foot was completely submerged in the cool water.

"Summer's so exhausting…" she sighed quietly looking to the side with her head and gaze slightly lowered.

She was wondering _"what now? … I have no family to run to… no suitable environment to even __have__ a family… what am I supposed to do?!"_

"Sakura." A husky voice called from about five feet behind her.

Sakura spun around to see Sasuke with his arms crossed, eyes closed, and scowling.

She just gave him a confused and dumbfounded look. She still wasn't completely used to seeing Sasuke outside of missions.

Sasuke rolled his eyes as if to say 'you gunna at least say 'hi'?'

Sakura just narrowed her gaze on him and hissed "_you_…"

Sasuke a tad shocked at the response he got opened his eyes to see her flaming mad ones. He still stayed silent contemplating on how he was going to try and fix things.

"This is all _your_ fault!" she spat standing up to leave.

Sasuke took a step forward and said "that's why I want to fix this."

Sakura sped walked to past him and said "I know how to fix this. I'm getting an abortion."

Sasuke caught her arm right when she was standing next to him then seethed from behind his barred teeth "don't take this out on the kid. What the hell did _it_ do wrong?"

Sakura took a deep breath then fixed her solemn gaze on the boardwalk planks.

"I'm scared…" she whimpered under her breath holding back tears.

She was hoping that he didn't hear her, but of course, he did. Sasuke pulled her sideways so she was standing in front of him instead of next to him, and pulled her into a warm embrace.

Sakura closed her eyes and remembered when she was always the one hugging Sasuke and annoying him to death with her 'love' for him. Now it seemed the tables had turned. Sasuke wasn't' annoying her though, she just realized that he really never had a soft side, at least as far as she knew till now. He seemed to genuinely care, but he really screwed up this time. In her book he did the mother load of all screw ups, he got her pregnant.

"I know you're scared," he whispered "that's why _I'm_ here."

Sakura's eyes widened in disbelief as she asked "you mean you're not going to leave me with the baby and go off and do your own thing?"

Sasuke broke the embrace and sighed, then said "I'm taking responsibility for what I've done. What happens after that, I haven't decided yet. But no, I'm not just going to ditch you while you're pregnant with a child."

Sakura sighed in relief, then scowled saying "it would be bad enough if you were just my boyfriend and not my husband, but we're not even dating…"

Sasuke shrugged and said "who cares"

Sakura face palmed herself thinking _"I hope my child doesn't inherit the Uchiha __attitude__"_

Sasuke folded his hands behind his head looking up towards the sky. He was dressed casually with white wash blue jeans, and a plain black shirt with the Uchiha crest on the back. He still had his ninja sandals on though. Sakura had never seen him out of his normal ninja gear before and was slightly taken aback at how such a simple outfit made him look so superior.

Sasuke noticed Sakura looking at him and smirked. Sakura noticed and scowled asking "what the hell is up with that look Uchiha?"

Sasuke dropped the smirk and closed his eyes with a scowl thinking _"she's the most beautiful girl in this village inside and out… but she sure as hell is annoying…"_

Sakura scoffed then said "I'm tired so I'm going home."

Sasuke opened his eyes from his thoughts then stated, not ask, stated "I'll walk you home."

Sakura waved her hand and said "that's not necessary."

"I didn't ask" Sasuke said smirking.

Sakura turned around and faced him scowling, "I don't care if you did or didn't! I just want to be alone!!"

Sasuke stuck his finger in his ear and rubbed it around saying "stop yelling, you're making my ears bleed."

Sakura rolled her eyes and said "do what you want, but I'm ignoring you for the rest of day."

Sasuke raised a brow "why?"

"Because I said I wanted to be alone" Sakura scoffed.

Sasuke shrugged walking towards her he said "c'mon crabby you need some rest."

Sakura fumed at Sasuke arrogance then just sighed in defeat. There really _was_ no getting to him. He had a thick head and inflated ego, compliments of the Uchiha genes passed down to him.

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Sakura woke up woozy as always and walked out of her bedroom into the kitchen only to find a raven haired man wiping down all the counters and tossing the wet rag he was using in the sink. Sakura rubbed her eyes thinking she was hallucinating. Sasuke? Doing house work? Being 'domestic'? There was no way. She opened her eyes after rubbing them to see the man still facing the sink, so she did hand signs to release a genjutsu that she thought somebody must have cast on her.

Sasuke turned around and saw her there with her hand signs and raised a brow thinking _"what the hell is she doing?..."_

Sakura opened her eyes to see that it wasn't a genjutsu at all, but she was sure it had to be something else. It just _couldn't_ have been Sasuke.

Her eyes widened as she pointed her finger at Sasuke and screamed "NARUTO GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!!!!!"

Sasuke turned around to see if the said blond boy was standing behind him or something, but just sweat dropped because he wasn't. They were the only people in the whole house.

He scowled then said "I'm not dobe… are you blind?"

Sakura narrowed her eyes and began poking him in the shoulder, the forehead, stomach, side of his head, knees, feet, chest, legs, and arms to see if it was _really _Sasuke and not some projected image. It was him alright. He was twitching in irritation at the constant poking until he reached his limit.

"Stop…" he hissed grabbing both of her wrists to cease the poking.

"Yep!" she shouted, "you're definitely Sasuke!"

Sasuke let go of her wrists and just sweat dropped again saying "just go get ready.

"For what?" Sakura asked curiously.

"For your check up. Don't tell me you forgot already?"

It seemed that a month went by fast. Tsunade had wanted to check up on Sakura and her progress. Sasuke was happy that the only people who knew about the pregnancy were him, Naruto, Sakura, and Ino. Sakura had asked Ino to keep the pregnancy 'hush-hush' because of how people might react. Ino was a gossip addict, but surprisingly enough the news hadn't leaked out to the public. Naruto even kept his mouth shut. Now it was time for Sakura's check up, and hopefully, if all went well, Tsunade would announce the pregnancy publicly. Uchiha births were a big deal in the leaf village. Sasuke and Itachi were no exception. The fact that this baby would be the start of the revival of the famous Uchiha clan, made it worthy to 'announce' publicly.

Sakura and Sasuke were patiently waiting for Tsunade to arrive in a hospital room. Sakura's abdomen was starting to swell so she had maternity jeans on. Although it was because she was pregnant, it was so subtle that it seemed that she was just eating too much ramen. She loathed it. She was slowly starting to loose her figure she'd always been able to maintain.

She was swinging her legs under the examination table back and forth like a child swinging their legs sitting on a tree branch.

Sasuke twitched in irritation. It was so silent and still in the room that his total focus was on her legs moving back and forth. It irked him.

"Stop it" he hissed.

Sakura raised a brow and asked "stop _what_?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and said "that annoying leg thing you're doing. It's distracting."

Sakura rolled her eyes, "well there's nothing else so do but talk, but we both know how great of conversationalist you are" she spat with sarcasm.

Sasuke rolled his eyes then mumbled "I'm not the only one with an attitude."

Sakura opened her mouth to shoot something back, but Tsunade walked into the room saying "let's get a look at my grandchild!"

Sasuke raised a brow and said "you're not her mother… are you?"

Tsunade gave the Uchiha a stern look then sarcastically said "so what if I am?"

This made Sasuke raise his brow even more. Sakura could feel the tension between him and Lady Tsunade rising so she decided to break it before it escalates into something else.

"She's _like_ a mother to me. I lost my real mom, and dad, because they went on a dangerous mission. And I spend so much time learning form Lady Tsunade anyway that she's like a motherly figure to me." Sakura said all 'cutesy' with a chibi smile.

Tsunade just playfully stuck her tongue out at Sasuke then turned around to face Sakura.

"Alright you" Tsunade said facing her, "lay down."

Sakura knew that was an order so she laid down and closed her eyes and relaxed. She was a medic-nin so she knew what was coming. She felt a tingling sensation from her stomach to mid-thigh. Tsunade had placed her hand of Sakura's abdomen and was flowing chakra in to see if everything was going well.

"Good" she said removing her hand, "but I want you back again in two months."

Sakura nodded excitedly putting her casual cloths back on. She was wearing blue jeans with a light pink t-shirt that had a magenta fire nation symbol in the middle on the front, and a giant, hollow magenta circle on the back. She had her regular ninja sandals on and her hair was down. She was on leave for two months from missions as were the rest of the 'gang' as they called it (basically Shikamaru, Ino, Choji, Naruto, herself, Sasuke, Hinata, Kiba, Shino, Lee, Ten-Ten, Neji, and Sai). Sakura put on her maternity jeans and t-shirt then grabbed Sasuke's wrist dragging him out of the building.

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"Saw 'AAAAAAAAAAAAAA' Sakura-chan!!!!" Naruto shouted while holding chop sticks in front of her face attempting to feed her ramen.

"I'm pregnant… not paralyzed… I can feed myself Naruto…" Sakura said annoyed.

Sasuke just rolled his eyes thinking about how stupid Naruto was acting.

They were about to get up and leave when they were greeted by a friendly gust of smoke followed by "yo".

"KAKASHI-SENSEI!!!!!" Naruto yelled.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, and Sakura said "you really ought to find a way to poof around without polluting the environment or suffocating your students."

Kakashi giggled and said "feisty as ever!"

Sasuke rolled his… again.

"I just came to give my congratulations" Kakashi said excitedly adding "who knew you two would wind up together?!"

Sakura scratched the back of her head grinning sheepishly muttering "about that…"

Sasuke sensed her uneasiness then scoffed "I guess you just weren't observant."

"_What the hell?!?!" _Sakura thought looking at Sasuke like he suddenly turned diseased.

-

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"What was that about?" Sakura hissed as she walked into her apartment flipping the lights on.

Sasuke crossed his arms then said "it's better if people think we're together."

Sakura twitched then said "what ever I'm just not going to bother arguing with you cause you'll just ignore every freaking ford I say."

Sasuke smirked then snidely said "you're learning."

Sakura twitched at the comment the stormed off to her room.

Sasuke was tired and flipped on the TV. He wasn't really watching the program that was on, but he didn't feel like going home to an empty apartment just yet. Although he didn't know why he wanted to stay here a bit longer, call it Uchiha instinct.

About fifteen minutes later Sasuke heard the shuffling of feet in the other room then a violent blorching sound. He shot up from the sofa and ran into Sakura's bedroom to see if she was alright. He found her in her bathroom leaning over the toilet. He held her hair out of her face then asked "you okay?"

Sakura turned around and was surprised to see his face with some emotion on it, an emotion called concern.

"yeah… I think I'm-"

Sakura was interrupted by another feeling tugging at her stomach, she immediately broke eye contact with Sasuke and leaned back over the toilet vomiting. Sasuke raised a brow then thought of why she was puking so much. It couldn't be healthy for the baby.

"I want you to go see Tsunade, tomorrow" he ordered, not ask, ordered.

Sakura shook her head then said "this all happens with pregnancy. That's all she's going to say. This is the same thing as what happened on the mission when I started vomiting. It's nothing that abnormal."

Sasuke didn't think she was lying, but he didn't' see puking as normal for pregnancy, it was just too bizarre. Puking was never a good sign of anything.

"I'm staying here for the night then" he said 'matter-of-fact' not leaving any room to argue.

Sakura sighed then said "fine, but you're on the couch."

Sasuke shook his head then said "it's too far. Will you at least let me drag a cot in here and sleep on the floor?"

Sakura put her finger on her chin looking upwards thinking, then nodded in agreement. With that, Sasuke was out of the door to go get his overnight things. He returned just a few minutes later with a sleeping cot, pillow, sheets, change of cloths, and toiletries. He set his stuff down then went into the bathroom to brush his teeth.

"I'll take a shower in the morning" he said walking out of the bathroom as if reading Sakura's mind.

She nodded then said "I'm going to sleep."

Sasuke nodded then went to his own respective cot, but just put his hands behind his head unable to sleep. He was too concerned with Sakura. He couldn't find out why he cared so much about her. I mean yea, he had sex with her, but it was over a dare. That wasn't love was it? Then he remembered his mother telling him something once.

Flash Back

"_Kaachan… how come people who are completely different from each other wind up falling in love?" little six year old Sasuke asked with beaming eyes._

_Mikoto placed a hand over her moth and giggled then kneeled down to be eye level with her son. She ruffled his hair then said "love works in strange ways. It's such a strange emotion that it has to have a strange mold in order to work."_

"_Wha?" Sasuke asked confused not getting the answer he wanted._

_Mikoto stood back up and sighed smiling, then she said "you'll understand one of these days dear…"_

End Flash Back

Sasuke sighed then realized what his mother meant. She was saying that love wasn't a normal emotion, so if you had a stereo-typical pairing, love wouldn't happen. But opposites really do attract, because strange and opposite couples seemed to find more happiness in being so different from each other.

"You were right…" he whispered as he turned to face the wall on his little cot in the corner of the room.

Sakura shifted in her sleep hearing Sasuke's words, but not being able to register them sense he was on the other side of the room, and she was almost asleep.

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_**To be continued…**_

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Thank you all so much for reading this I'm sad to only have one review though :'(

But it made me lmao =)

I thought more people would've read and reviewed this!!! AAAARRRRGGGGHH!!!!!

Oh well…. I guess it's not _that_ big of a deal =). Though I would love LoVe _love __love __**LOVE**_ it if you could R&R =)

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**C.A.M.E.O.1 and Only:** hahaha nice =) I know that Kiba was such a dumbass to dare an Uchiha to do something, because you know they don't back down. Akamaru would have more brains than that and either dare him to do something else, or dare Naruto to eat ramen holding the chop-sticks with his toes =)

THAT would be amazing xD hahahahha


	3. The Curse of Nature

**Disclaimer: **I _DO__NOT_ own Naruto =) thank you

Wow I'm really sorry for taking so long to update =} I've had a ruff past few weeks =/

I've been over the top with school work (I don't do home work, but I do study), and then my grandma died on Friday… then my family stresses me out with how much they get in my face about how busy they are whenever I ask for anything.

Example:

Me: hey mom can I have a bowl of cereal?

Mom: do you know how busy I am trying to finance your grandma's taxes?!?! She hasn't paid them in YEARS!!! And to make it worse the IRS is already starting to collect her property to compensate!!!! ARGGGHHHH!!!!!

One question….. Followed by a lecture for an answer…. Life SO isn't fair!!!

Anyways… I hope this chapter makes up for the wait!!! Please R&R guys!!!! ^_^

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_Ashiteru 3_

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Sasuke woke up, rubbed his eyes, then stood up from his cot on the floor. When he was about to walk out of the room he heard a loud moan, and turned around to see Sakura lying on the floor in a nest of sheets and blankets.

Sasuke pinched the skin between his eyes then asked "why the hell are you on the floor?"

Sakura didn't answer, but just let out another loud "uuuugggGGGGHHHH!!"

Sasuke was becoming irritated and just lifted her up onto the bed not caring to pick up the blankets or sheets and drowsily trudged out of the room. He was making coffee in the kitchen when he heard the shuffling of feet. A few moments later the shower came on.

"_At least she's not puking…"_ he thought.

Sasuke had made a half pot of coffee and went outside to get the newspaper out of the delivery bin at the bottom of the apartments. He was still dressed in his navy blue pajama pants and black t-shirt when he went down. He didn't have any shoes on either, but still managed to pull off the whole 'I just woke up' look. When he got down to the bottom a couple of blushing giggling girls were gawking at him from the side. Sasuke twitched in irritation, grabbed the newspaper and the mail, and then went back up to the apartment to see Sakura drinking a cup of coffee and making breakfast.

He raised an eyebrow and said "you didn't have to do that you know?"

Sakura looked over at Sasuke, peered his hands, smirked, then snidely replied "and you didn't have to do _that _either" pointing at his hand clutching the mail and news paper.

Sasuke shrugged then said "I wanted to read the news paper, and the mail was there too, so it didn't matter to me."

Sakura rolled her eyes and mumbled "_suuuuurrreeee…_"

"So what are you cooking?"

"Why does it smell nice?!"

"uhhh… sure…"

Sakura scowled at Sasuke's vagueness and unenthusiastic personality… but that's just who he was. Sasuke wasn't intending to be rude. He was still thinking about that flashback he'd had about his mom tell him how love worked in strange ways. Whenever he thought about it long enough he'd always catch himself staring at Sakura, who noticed and raised a brow as if asking 'what?! Is there something on my face?!'. Sasuke was bugged about it, but he had to get ready for his Anbu mission, he'd worry about Sakura later.

Sasuke got up then said "I'm taking a shower. You need to get ready for work too."

Sakura rolled her eyes then said "I know! I can't take care of myself!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes as said from inside the bathroom "right, that's why you were bent over puking all over the toilet last night and almost passed out… you can totally take care of yourself…"

Sakura ignored Sasuke's rude comments and continued making breakfast. She had some eggs cooking in one pan, they were scrambled and she had condiments in little bowls on the counter off the side. She was making omelets. Sasuke stepped out of the shower and the smells from the kitchen were wafting into the bathroom overpowering the smell of water vapor.

Sasuke stepped out in nothing but a towel and said "you can leave mine on the counter. I'll eat it in a minute."

Sakura looked over to the half naked Sasuke and blushed then turned away yelling "GET SOME CLOTHS ON DAMNIT!!!!"

Sasuke smirked in amusement then said "it's not like you haven't seen it before Sakura, grow up."

Sakura twitched at the last part. She thought that Sasuke was the one not acting like an adult walking around in nothing but a bath towel… although he looked good in it, it was still totally uncalled for and unnecessary.

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Sasuke stepped out of the room to find Sakura already gone. He shrugged then saw that his plate was on the counter like he'd asked, but what he didn't ask for was a note that was left next to it. He opened the note and read it to himself.

_Sasuke,_

_I know you're busy, and I will be too, and if you're going to stay here like you think you 'have' to… there's a spare key I keep under the welcome mat in a chakra sealed barrier in a little dent in the cement. Use that to get in if you need to. I already left for work if you didn't already guess and I might not be back until late. The last mission we went on ran over my shift hours so I have to make up for it. Anyway, I hope you put your dishes in the sink. I don't need to clean up __another__ mess._

_-Sakura_

"Well she's never out of words…" Sasuke grumbled to himself as he set the wordy note to the side and gobbled down his breakfast.

He stopped for a moment and looked down then said "hn, she put tomatoes in it…"

After he'd eaten his breakfast and gotten dressed in the rest of his Anbu armor he set the dish in the sink and took off from roof-top to roof-top to his mission briefing.

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"Good morning Lady Tsunade!" Sakura chirped as she walked into the hospital to begin her shift of work.

Lady Tsunade stopped her and said "you don't have work today."

Sakura twitched then said "why the hell not?!"

Tsunade scowled then said "don't you use that tone with me!", Sakura took a deep breath before Tsunade added, "You don't have work because you're pregnant, and it's too risky. Remember, this baby could revive the Uchiha clan."

Sakura rolled her eyes mimicking what Tsunade said irritably, then said "I can't just work in the radiology department, or the terminal illness ward. I can patch up wounds, do surgical procedures, and anything else that doesn't involve extreme light ray exposure or sickness?"

Tsunade rolled her eyes then said "good luck avoiding getting sick in a _hospital_, the place where people go when they're _sick_."

Sakura rolled her eyes then said "fine… have it your way…" and walked out of the hospital.

She was rather tired of this nonsense. She couldn't do missions, couldn't train, couldn't do her job, couldn't do squat!

"I HATE BEING PREGNANT!!!!" she yelled frustrated as she kicked a trash can walking down a street with few pedestrians.

"Because it makes you have monstrous mood swings?" a sarcastic voice mocked from behind her.

She turned around to become face to face with the youngest Uchiha and sneered "no! Because everyone's treating me like if I lift a finger I'll die!!! I'll die of BOREDOM before I die of working!!!!"

Sasuke smirked then said "that's just how it is. Go hang out with friends or something."

Sakura rolled her eyes then retorted "you think I haven't _tried_ that already?! They're all constantly being sent on missions!!"

Sasuke just shook his head at her. He was dressed in his Anbu armor and he said "well I have to go on one now. That's why I wanted to find you."

Sakura raised a brow then asked "are you asking me to give you permission or something?"

Sasuke shook his head then said "no, because I wanted to tell you so you don't freak out trying to look for me or hear it from someone else that I'm gone."

Sakura looked around thinking then asked "for how lon-"

She was cut off mid question when Sasuke dryly said "two months…"

Sakura's eyes widened as she asked "are you serious?! What the hell?!"

Sasuke smirked then asked "you gunna miss me?"

Sakura turned her back to him then scoffed "you wish aho! (idiot)"

Sasuke came up from behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist surprising her.

He bent down and whispered in her ear "well _I'm_ going to miss you."

When Sakura turned around all there was behind her was a cloud of smoke where Sasuke had been standing. He had left her.

-

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"Why the long face Sakura?!" Choji asked walking alongside Sakura down the street when he had seen her, and detected her pessimistic aura.

Sakura shrugged then said "Sasuke's leaving… for two months…"

Choji smiled innocently trying to cheer her up asked "gunna miss him, eh?"

Sakura shrugged again and said "I honestly don't know _what_ to think… he seems to like me… but then he just says he'll miss me and vanishes in a puff of smoke before I can say anything back to him… it's kind of annoying…"

Choji chuckled then said "well he got you pregnant? Doesn't that obviously mean you guys like each other?"

Sakura face palmed herself and grumbled "not really…"

Choji raised an eye brow. Then Sakura pulled him by the arm into a side alley away from the street or where people could hear them.

"What's up?" Choji asked with a concerned raised brow.

Sakura took a deep breath then said "you have to promise not to tell anyone about this. There're only a few people who know about this and I'd rather it not get out at _all_."

Choji nodded saying "you know I can keep a secret."

Sakura nodded then said "the only reason I'm pregnant is because Kiba dared Sasuke to have sex with me on our last mission because the boys got 'bored'. And you know Sasuke… his ego gets the best of him and he didn't back down, so he went through with it, and I didn't know that my period was the following week… so that's why."

Choji raised a brow then said "and you still let him do that?"

Sakura face palmed herself again saying "I didn't know that Kiba had dared him until _after_ he'd already had sex with me…"

Choji just made an "O" face not totally understanding why his comrades had interesting past times on missions.

Sakura just looked up with a sad expression and asked "now promise you'll keep this 'hush-hush' from all the others? The ones on the mission know Sasuke did it with me, but they think that the dare brought us together as a couple. Then the people who weren't there don't know about the dare at all. We're sort of pretending so people won't think much of us having a child… Sasuke said it's better that way…"

Choji looked concerned as he asked "and what about after the baby's born?"

Sakura shrugged then said "Sasuke said that he hadn't thought that far yet, he said he's just going to take responsibility for his stupid actions and help me get through _this_ mess for now. He didn't decide if he was going to stay with me for good or not."

Choji shook his head then turned serious as he said "I promise I won't say anything to the others… but you can't let him do this to you. I'm serious. If you let him… then you're setting an example for other men that it's ok to things like that to a woman."

Sakura twitched then said "blame Kiba… not me… if I'd known it was a dare I'd never had let him in the first place."

Choji simply waved the subject and said "lets talk about something else… this is too touchy and I don't want to upset you or stress you out."

Sakura smiled and nodded. She could always count on Choji to be more sympathetic and less pushy then the others. He was like a giant teddy bear… that could crush things… by inflating into a rock hard ball… but still snugly as ever! He and Sakura chatted for a while about diets and such. Choji told her that she should eat carrots and tomatoes as much as possible to help develop the baby's eye sight. Sakura just told him that she wasn't really into special stuff like that. She just knew she wasn't going to drink any alcohol (she didn't drink anyway, so it wasn't much of a sacrifice), eat any junk food (besides ramen every now and then), and she wasn't going to over work herself (that was the most challenging one).

"Well Sakura, Asuma-sensei needs me for an important mission in about an hour. I told Shikamaru that I'd meet up with him at his place before we went, so I have to go. But take care!" Choji said happily as he bid her farewell.

Sakura was once again alone. It had been nice conversing with Choji, but now what? She didn't have much else to do besides lye around the apartment, and that wasn't what she felt like doing. She wanted to get out and train, and go on missions, but that was impossible. She finally gave up as she turned towards the apartment with a huff and grumbling of words.

"Sakura-chan!!" a familiar voice cooed from behind her.

Sakura turned around to see Naruto saying "hi…" in a 'I-didn't-expect-to-see-you' tone.

"What?" Naruto asked somewhat shocked and insulted.

"Nothing… it's just that Sasuke's on a mission so I thought for sure that you'd be going with him." Sakura said still looking at Naruto confused.

Naruto scratched the back of his head looking off into space before he said "well I heard there was an Anbu mission, it's a three man cell of top secret Anbus that are being sent to the rain village to take out some Akatsuki guy named 'pain'. They only selected the 'elite'… so I didn't get to go."

He said "elite" mockingly obviously bummed that Sasuke was picked and not him for the mission.

"So it's 'S' ranked?" Sakura asked somewhat sad and disappointed, with her voice dripped in worry.

Naruto noticed this and said "yea… but don't worry. It's Sasuke were talking about here. I mean… he took out Itachi! So this guys just going to be another piece of cake for him!"

"Right…" Sakura said under her breath trying to sound hopeful, but miserably failed in doing so.

Naruto just raised a brow at her and crossed his arms. He hated seeing her like this. She was his friend, comrade, and teammate after all.

"Come on… I'll walk you home" he said in a low voice indicating he knew that she was sad.

Sakura just nodded and followed Naruto down the streets lined with streetlights that were just turning on. By the time they reached Sakura's apartment, it was already dark.

"Arigato Naruto-kun" she said smiling her best smile as she entered the apartment.

"Ja ne, Sakura-chan."

The door was closed behind her and she could hear Naruto jump off the door step onto the nearest rooftop, and hop away.

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Sakura couldn't believe it'd been a month and a half since Sasuke left. She was getting her coat on, getting ready to go out the door to Tsunade's to get her 3 month check up. She had almost forgotten about it if it weren't for Naruto loudly knocking on her door waking her up because he wanted to go too. Sakura stepped out onto the doorstep and locked her door as Naruto was rushing her to leave.

"Let's go Sakura-chan!!!!" he screeched.

"Hold on Naruto! Just relax!!! Tsunade will be there five minutes from now!!"

"We don't' have five minutes!!!"

Sakura finally bolted off of the doorstep and onto the nearest roof top. She sped forwards towards the hospital with graceful footing in order to ensure she didn't fall. When she arrived she was led into a room and Naruto was left to wait out in the hall.

"You're late" Tsunade remarked dryly as she squirted some jell on her hands.

Sakura lifted her orange maternity shirt up so that Tsunade could spread the cold jell all over her abdomen. Sakura winced from the cool sting of it but soon wasn't bothered by it. Tsunade then had green chakra resonating from her pointer finger and placed it right under Sakura's navel. Tsunade stayed like that for a few minutes scowling. Tsunade stopped the chakra flow in her finer and stepped back with a grim face.

She turned her back to Sakura heading towards the door with her gaze on the floor reaching for the door knob she said "I'm sorry… whatever heartbeat _was_ there… isn't there anymore…"

Sakura's eyes started developing little pools on the side as she whispered "no…. trying again! That can't be right!"

Tsunade waved her hand and said "there's no mistake… the baby's dead…" and walked out of the room.

Sakura kept her shinobi façade on as she walked out of the door and saw Naruto. Naruto saw the depressing look on her face, and remained silent. After Naruto had walked her home Sakura placed her things on the counter and looked in the bathroom mirror. As she looked at her reflection she began to cry, she slowly undressed herself in order to take a shower. When she turned the water on she placed her hands on the shower wall to hold herself up, but as she cried harder and harder she slowly slid down until she was sitting on the cold tiled surface of the shower floor. She covered her face and wept as the water ran over her skin drenching her body in artificial tears. She felt that in some way… it was _her_ fault the baby was dead. And when Sasuke got back, how was she going to tell him? Would he ignore her again like he had when he first came back to the village? Will he be mad at her for loosing his child?

Those questions haunted her thoughts as she let them out in tears.

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_**To Be Continued…**_

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Thank you all so much for the reviews!!!! I got four instead of one this time ;D WOOT!!!

Anyway, I replied to them below and I hope that you all reviews on this chapter as well!!!

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**innocent blusher:** well I know I made him a tad softer than normal, but what do you mean by 'productive'? o_0

**C.A.M.E.O.1 and Only: **I wish I could let him get hurt, but he never meant for all this crap to happen. Anyways, I'll try and find a way for him to get his 'just-desserts' if that's what you really want. If you don't mind try and give me some good ideas =)

**Yamora Love n Friendship:** thank you! Thank you! Thank you very much! I'm glad you like it! I hope you put this on your story alerts list and keep reading it! If you like this one all my other stories are SasuSaku as well. So you might wana check them out too!

**mellowkid9090:** haha well I hope you keep reading thank you! And I'm not sure how I come up with so many good stories… *thinking pose* hmmmm… I just like writing, and I get these ideas and movies and stuff in my head and I just jot them down as I got. I never really use an 'outline' that I have to follow. So I have free range to take the story where ever I want =)))


	4. Move In Wtih Me?

**Disclaimer: **I _DO NOT_ own Naruto!!!

Hey guys!! I'm sorry it's taken a month to update!! I've been busy like you wouldn't believe!! I've had to deal with my grandma dying causing my parents to have to deal with all of her financial mess she left behind. That caused me to have like double chores and not so fun stuff like that =/ annnyyywaayyyssss… I also tried out for color guard and my school and I made it =) It's going to eat up my summer like nobody's business lol xDD

I have: band camp, my grandma's funeral thingy in CA (I live in GA so we have to drive there and were spending two weeks there not including travel time), and woodland Christian camp. Not to mention I also have color guard practices 2-3 times a week for the whole day :3

That will most DEFINITELY cut down on my writing… maybe I can convince my dad to let me use his mac so I can type stuff up while I'm gone in CA and then upload whenever I get the chance. I'll have to ask, and it won't be till at least around… idk… beginning of June? Not sure. It's towards the beginning of summer =) I'll be sure to add a note of whatever's happening if I can when I upload stuff (if I'm able to though).

Oh well, back to the point. I hope that this makes up for the wait! I have to warn you though… there IS smut/lemons in this chapter… (and no it's not to get Sakura to have another baby caz she lost the first one so I'll just say that right now xD)

Please be sure to R&R!!!! ^(^0^)^ *WOOT!!!!* I always enjoy your reviews ;)

**Ashiteru**

The village was the same as it'd always been. Ninjas were hopping from roof-to-roof, children playing 'ninja', upstart (genin) ninjas practicing to become stronger, and civilians doing their daily tasks and routines. The only thing that was out of place was a pink haired Kunoichi who was hibernating in her apartment.

Sakura woke-up in a haze, which had recently become 'normal' for her. It'd been at least a week since her last visit with Tsunade, and she hadn't left her house since then. For the first few days, her friends knocked on her door to try and get her to come out, but by now they'd all given-up. Sakura put on her bathrobe over her oversized t-shirt and walked into the kitchen. She opened cabinets and cupboards eyeing the food inside, but nothing seemed appealing to her. Sakura walked back into her room with a glass of water and lied back down on her bed. She turned on her side, tucked her knees to her chest, and started silently crying. This had seemingly become her morning routine. She would've sobbed, but she'd done it so much already that her voice was practically gone. She also reasoned that no matter how much she wailed, it wasn't going to bring her unborn child back to her.

Sasuke had returned to the village from his Anbu mission relatively unscathed. He was reporting to the Hokage along with his comrades.

"Excellent" Tsunade said slightly enthusiastic, "there are still more of them out there, but since we've 'cut the head off the snake' the body won't know what to do with itself."

The Anbus in the office were about to walk out after being dismissed, but Tsunade said "Sasuke, stay a moment."

The other three Anbus shrugged then left the room closing the door behind them. Sasuke stepped forward so he was standing in front of the Hokage's desk.

He could sense the building tension, so he asked "what is it you wanted to speak with me about?"

Tsunade's features turned grim as she said "you need to prepare yourself for whatever it is you might see when you go home."

Sasuke raised an inquisitive brow and asked "what do you mean?"

"I mean Sakura hasn't been herself. You need to talk to her, and be prepared fro what she'll tell you."

Sasuke wasn't sure what Tsunade meant, but just nodded and walked out of the Hokage's office.

Sakura was out of tears, but still had a wet face from earlier. She hadn't moved from her curled up position on the bed.

Sasuke stepped onto the front doorstep and tried opening the door, but it was locked. Then he remembered what she'd told him about the spare house key and lifted up the welcome mat.

"She really _doesn't_ want anyone seeing her, does she?" Sasuke scoffed under his breath.

The key was no longer there, so Sasuke assumed that she'd taken it so that no one could get inside. He jumped up onto the roof and walked to the other side of the apartment. Sasuke landed pm the balcony and tried opening the balcony doors, but they were also locked. He was about to give up and just bust a hole in her apartment until he saw an open window where her living room was. He channeled chakra to his feet and walked along the side of the house, then perched himself on the window-seal squatting. When Sakura plodded into the living room in her robe and t-shirt she sat on the couch tucking her knees to her chest. She never noticed a full armored Anbu Sasuke peering strait at her through her open window.

"_How the hell could she not __notice__ me?!"_ Sasuke inwardly asked with disgust.

He'd had enough of her moping around and jumped into the room. Only when he started walking towards her did Sakura detect the presence of another person.

She gasped and accidentally fell onto the floor before cowering in fear and whispering "I'm sorry…"

Sasuke quirked a brow at her then asked "for _what_?"

Sakura but her lower lip and started crying before she could say anything. Sasuke noticed how her abdomen was no longer swollen.

"You didn't get an abortion, did you?" he asked somewhat threateningly as he activated his Sharingan.

Sakura shook her head unable to speak and paralyzed in fear as she thought _he's going to kill me!!"_

Sasuke looked at her abdomen with his Sharingan and could see that the baby was in-fact, gone.

"Then why aren't you pregnant?" he asked somewhat angry, but more concerned.

Sakura bit her lower lip crying before yelling out in a raspy half gone voice "It's all my fault!!..." she fell on her hands and knees whispering "I miss-carried…"

Sasuke's eyes widened in shock as he tried to absorb the information he'd just received, but wound up showing a tad more compassion to make up for the lack of understanding. He got down on his knees in front of Sakura and pulled the crying pinkette into his arms. This was his first time ever trying to comfort someone, so he wasn't sure what to do. All he knew was that he hurt inside too, though he wouldn't let his grief rise to the surface. Sakura was grateful for the warmth she hadn't felt since she locked herself away in her apartment.

"I'm so sorry…" she whispered under her breath.

Sasuke could almost _feel_ her guilt welling up inside herself and flowing onto him.

"It's not your fault" he kept saying, "these things… just happen."

"But now you have no reason to stay… you'll just ignore me like you did before the mission…"

"That's not going to happen."

Sakura broke the embrace and looked at him with gleamingly confused eyes as she asked so you're _not_ leaving?!"

"No."

"Thank you… Sasuke-kun..."

After Sasuke had come back to the village, Sakura came out of hiding. She was finally able to go back on her missions and resume her life as usual, aside from Sasuke being a relationship with her 'for real' this time.

"Wake up" a husky voice ordered dryly.

Sakura groaned and twisted so she was lying on her stomach. She let out one last grunt before saying a few incoherent and uninterruptible words, because her face was buried in a pillow. Sasuke rolled his eyes not bothering to ask her to repeat herself. He slowly walked to her bedside then yanked the covers off. Sakura screamed into the pillow from the sting of the chilly winter air attacking her warm body. Her t-shirt and pajama pants simply weren't enough to guard her from the cold.

"Get… up…" the same voice asked again, but more irritated this time.

Sakura say up and hissed "what was _that_ for?!"

Sasuke, fully dressed in his Anbu attire told her "we have a mission, get dressed."

Sakura flew from the bed and scrambled through her dresser to find her Anbu armor. She quickly changed, ignoring Sasuke's presence. When she finished, Sakura ran out of the door hopping from roof to roof with Sasuke following behind her. She burst into the Hokage's office.

"I would tell you you're late, but I never gave you a notice about this mission" Tsunade said calmly as Sakura and Sasuke entered the room.

They took their places next to the other two Anbus. It was evident who they were. The pineapple shaped pony tail was Shikamaru, and the long brown hair in a low pony tail was obviously Neji. All the Anbus had their masks on, as well as their cloaks and armor.

"Now," Tsunade said, "this is an urgent mission that requires a last second assembly for a squad. I still expect success, mind you."

"So what's our mission?" Shikamaru asked somewhat impatiently.

Tsunade scowled at his curtness then got to the point, "you all have to go to a near-by village towards the fire temple. It's been attacked by ninjas from the hidden mist. Why?... I don't' know. That's the second goal to your mission. Sasuke, send me a messenger hawk when you have eliminated or warded off the threat. Then commence your investigation of the attackers and keep me informed."

"Hai" he said in confirmation to the semi-detailed instructions.

"Go!" Tsunade ordered the Anbus.

The Anbus left the room in four puffs of smoke. Tsunade had appointed Sasuke as captain this time around. This mission required strength to ward off the enemy, and stealth to discover the perpetrators, Neji's byakugan would come in handy, and so would Shikamaru's big brain. As for Sakura, her role was evident. She was the medic-nin who would heal her team mates and injured villagers.

Sasuke had ordered everyone be at the front gates of Konoha in 45 minutes. Sakura was there five minutes early. Low and behold, there was Sasuke. He was leaning up against one of the gates with his back and one of his feet. His arms were crossed, and his eyes were closed.

"you're early" he stated dryly without opening his eyes.

"uh, um… yea" Sakura stuttered.

"Can I ask you something?" Sasuke requested finally opening his eyes and looking right into hers.

Sakura nodded in response so Sasuke continued with "we've been together for a while now… so I'd like you to move in with me."

Sakura's eyes widened in shock from the sudden invitation. She took a few uncertain steps back almost tripping over her own feet. Sakura was about to take another step when she bumped into a solid form behind her.

"_Damn he's fast!"_ she though as she felt strong arms wrap around her waist.

"Please…" he whispered huskily in her ear.

"I knew I should've have left you two alone…" they both heard a smart-ass voice mocking from behind.

"Think on it" Sasuke added as he turned around to see a blank-faced Shikamaru.

Neji showed up a matter of seconds after Shikamaru, and with Sasuke's orders, the four-man cell took off into the trees moving swiftly towards their target.

Once they arrived they found the village in disarray. Homes were destroyed, and bodies were strewn about the ash and half desecrated land. Sakura put her hand over her mouth to hold back a hasp. Sasuke nodded at Neji, and then the said Hyuuga began collecting the deceased individuals to be buried. There were 1/3 of the villagers left after the attack. The dead were buried, and reconstruction began. Neji was the scout for the enemy with his Byakugan in case they attacked again. Sasuke summoned a messenger hawk with a status report to be sent to Tsunade, just as instructed. With exception to Neji who was scouting, the squad began helping the villagers get back on their feet.

Sasuke stood in the middle of a group of trees. He used chidori stream and in one rotation he cleanly cut about twenty trees. Sakura carried them back using her "monstrous strength." Shikamaru stayed in the village and instructed the villagers to remove the debris and burn wood from previous structures. They first started rebuilding the homes of the villagers who had lost their home in the attack. Then the sun went down, so Shikamaru advised that they call it a day, but stay on guard in case of an attack. Sasuke nodded and everyone but Sakura retired to their respective hut/tent. She went to the village's make-shift temporary hospital. She knew it wasn't wise to use her chakra reserves, but seeing these people in their current state tugged at her heart. Sakura thought she was being stealthy, since it was night time and no one could easily see her. However, Shikamaru knew full well what was happening.

"She's going to kill herself at this rate" the lazy genius mumbled to himself.

Shikamaru knew too well that Sakura wouldn't listen to him, so he went to get the one person she _would_ listen to.

"Sasuke?" Shikamaru asked while approaching the stoic figure leaning up against a tree.

"Hn" was the only response from the shadowy figure.

"It's about Sakura" Shikamaru stated confidently.

Sasuke's eyes immediately shot open. Shikamaru knew exactly which button to press to get the Uchiha's attention. He now knew he had the Uchiha's full and unwavering attention.

"She keeps going out at night to heal the people in the clinic. As a medic-nin she _should_ know that using all her chakra isn't good, but she doesn't seem to care."

Sasuke pushed himself off the tree with his foot and walked forward with his arms still crossed and Sharingan flaring.

"Sakura…" a man called from right behind her, placing a firm hand on her shoulder.

Sakura looked at the face that belonged to the owner of the hand.

"Neji-kun?" she asked with the 'deer-in-the-headlights' look plastered on her face.

She knew she'd been caught red handed, so there was no point in lying. Sakura scratched the back of her head laughing nervously while Neji frowned giving her a stern look of disapproval.

"I do not advise you continue this reckless behavior. I know you have the best interests at hear, but hurting and over exerting yourself is not the best way to do this" Neji stated calmly in his slightly concerned tone of voice.

Sakura was sitting on the floor next to a mat that had a boy with a broken arm and burns on his side. She guiltily looked at her palms contemplating the best form of action.

"No. I'm sorry Neji-kun. I know you have _my_ best interest at hear, but it's more worth it to heal 1,000 people and hurt myself, than to stay healthy and leave 1,000 people suffering" she replied with a sad smile.

Neji gave-up knowing that he wasn't going to win this battle and started walking towards the door of the 'shack' hospital. He stopped in the doorway and looked to his left seeing a pair of blood red eyes with black dots in them. He nodded at the Uchiha, who was attempting to conceal his presence, before walking outside. Sasuke stayed in the shadows watching for the medic-nin's next move. Sakura looked around the room for a minute before placing her hands over the injured boy's arm who was right in front of her. Wrong move. When Sakura closed her eyes to concentrate chakra to her hands, Sasuke shot out from the shadows and abruptly grabbed her wrists while leaning over the body of the sleeping boy.

Sakura scowled at the blood red eyes boring into her sea-foam green ones.

"Enough…" Sasuke hissed.

Sakura attempted to break free from his grasp, but it was futile. Not even her monstrous strength could help her.

"What?" she spat in as much of a malice tone as his.

"Stop this… it's fine to heal people, hell that's your job. But you can't go around healing to the point of depletion. You're hurting yourself. Neji's right, there are better ways to go about this" Sasuke said pulling her up so she was standing.

Sakura squirmed not vocalizing a reply, so Sasuke drug her back to his hut he built for the time they'd be there.

"St-stop!" Sakura whimpered as Sasuke trailed kisses from her earlobe, down her jaw line, down her neck to her collar bone.

"No" he said dryly before he claimed her lips.

Sakura moaned in his mouth as Sasuke slid his tongue into her cavern making a mental map of every nook and cranny.

Sakura struggled and pleaded with him whimpering "stop... p-please!"

Sasuke didn't pay attention to her cried for mercy as he pinned her up against one of the walls of the shack.

"No, so stop asking: he ordered flatly.

Sasuke aggressively moved his hand from her hip, down her though, to under her knee. Then he hitched her knee up to his hip, but she refused to latch onto him.

"Do it" he hissed in her ear with one hand next to her head and the other still holding her knee up.

Sakura winced from his hot breath in her ear, and hesitantly tightened her leg's grip around his waist. Once Sasuke felt the constriction he let go of her leg and placed his hand on the other side of her head against the wall. He reclaimed her lips with new ferocity as he removed his hands from against the wall and began running his hands down her hour-glass figure. Sakura purred as Sasuke slowly removed her red/magenta vest and white shirt.

"You know how sexy I think you look in the colors red and black" Sasuke growled with his forehead against hers.

Sakura bit her lower lip trying to hold back a smirk. She was wearing a black and red bra Ino had bought her for her birthday a while ago. Sasuke ghosted his lips over one of the straps, causing Sakura to shutter. After Sakura shuttered she could feel Sasuke smirk against her skin. Moments after he smirked Sakura felt her remaining leg being hitched up. She locked her feet behind Sasuke, and stifled a moan as she felt his hardness pressed up against her. Sasuke placed his hands under her upper-thigh to be sure she wouldn't slip. Then he leaned forward, pressing her hard against the wall, and sucked her pulse, and with a slight nip from his teeth he left a love mark. Sakura moaned his name slowly while he ran his tongue over the purposely inflicted wound. Her hands that were up against the wall behind her shot forward and clenched Sasuke's raven locks and arched her back, begging him not to stop nibbling her skin. Sasuke growled in pleasure as he ripping off his shirt and threw it to the floor, then resumed feasting on Sakura's neck. He ran his hand from her neck down her chest and stomach, until his hand rested on the waist band of her black pencil skirt. He moved Sakura's legs off his hips and with one tug, he made the skirt fall to her ankles. Sasuke stared at her black lace thong with a little red bow in the middle.

"And why were you wearing these under you _skirt_?" Sasuke asked with a quirked brow at her somewhat 'un-modest' choice of wearing a thong under a skirt.

Sakura draped her arms around Sasuke's neck and pulled herself up so her mouth was against his ear then whispered "because I felt like it."

Sasuke smirked against the pinkette's cheek, and with one swift movement he pinned her wrists above her head against the wall with one hand. He used the other hand to explore the divine curves of her body. Sakura moaned from the curiosity of Sasuke's roaming hand. Sasuke relished in the pinkette's rumbling of pleasure. Then in another swift movement, Sakura was lying defenselessly under Sasuke. Her hands weren't pinned anymore, but they wouldn't do her much good. Sakura ran her hands down Sasuke's rock-hard chest. Sasuke grunted, claimed her lips, and grabbed her wrist then placed her hand at the waist-line of his pants. She took it as a sign to undo the button and zipper, which is exactly what she did. After she'd finished loosening them she ripped them off his legs and tossed them carelessly to the floor. Sasuke smirked at her impatience and decided to tease her. He took the thin part of her thong that was in between her legs and pulled in down a few centimeters away from where it rested. Then he moved the finger he had hooked in them up and down slowly and torturing her with every moment of it.

"Stop it!" she hissed irritated trying to sit up to claim his lips.

Sasuke didn't respond but simply pushed her back down when she tried to sit up and continued playing with the thing piece of immodest fabric. Sakura finally gave in and quit trying to fight him. Once Sasuke realized she'd submitted, he stopped playing and let go of her thong, but didn't take it off. He put his hands against the bed, sandwiching her head in between them. He pushed her legs apart and slid so his stomach was against hers, and their privates were touching each other, but through a barrier of fabric.

"Why are you such a tease?" Sakura asked with a fake-putting frown.

Sasuke smirked at her somewhat 'cute' expression and answered "because you're impatient."

Sakura scoffed and turned her head away from him so she was no longer able face him. Sasuke rolled his eyes then took one of his hands, holding his body up on the other, and turned her head so she was facing him again. Sasuke then bent down and claimed her lips once more. Sakura smiled against the skin of his face as their lips continually locked, but having to break apart for air. After a few moments Sasuke made the kisses more passionate and fierce. Sakura reciprocated the pattern of his incline, and while he was kissing her senseless he snuck his hand under her back and undid her bra clasp. He then pulled her bra off and carelessly flung the unwanted covering fabric to the floor. Sakura's face turned red and her insecurity shown. Sasuke paused and examined her facial featured then claimed her lips once more. He broke the kiss and made a trail down her jaw line, her neck, her collar bone, and made his way to one of her luscious ivory mounds. Sasuke kissed down one of them till his mouth had found the 'cherry on top' and sucked it inside his mouth. Sakura arched her back and moaned begging Sasuke to take more of her.

Sasuke stealthily cupped her gentiles then mentally said _"still not wet enough."_

Sakura's world was beginning to spin and she wasn't sure how much more 'pleasure' she could hold in before she exploded and just jumped him to get release. Sasuke could tell she was at her breaking point so he hovered an inch over her trying to suppress her so she'd be easier to control (or toy with in Sasuke's case). He gave up on his original strategy and stepped off the bed. He was a few feet away from it as he tugged his boxers off. They fell to the floor down around his ankles, and he simple kicked them away.

"Knees" he ordered pointing at the space of the floor in front of him.

Sakura was confused and it shown on her face. Sasuke rolled his eyes then took her wrist and pulled her off the bed, and then forced her to her knees so her face was level with his cock. She was starting to register what he'd meant, but was too late in fully realizing the situation before Sasuke jammed his 8 inches of glory in her mouth. Sakura moaned in shock from the pleasure and sudden surprise of his actions. She slowly caught on and began using her tongue to swirl around the very tip of his genital. Sasuke grunted and contorted his face in a tortured and pleasure expression. Sakura smirked with his rock hard sex still inside her moth. He was about to release in her mouth when she pulled away and stood up facing him.

"Finish" he ordered.

"What is it with you and using one word during sex?" Sakura asked with a sarcastic tone.

Sasuke was about to 'make' her finish the job when she jumped on him and locked her feet behind him on his lower back so her legs were straddling his hips. Sasuke was about to push her off (gently) when he felt her position herself so her pussy was right above his throbbing cock. He almost moaned from the feel of her slick wetness seeping onto him.

"Ride me" he grunted in Sakura's ear.

"Oh so were using _two_ words this time!" Sakura chirped gaily and sarcastically as she remained unmoved.

Sasuke grunted in annoyance and uncontrollable pleasure and lust at Sakura's sarcastic remarks. He'd had just about enough. He didn't even know how she could be so energetic and childish in the middle of sex. It truly baffled him.

"Ride me" he said again, but this time much fiercer.

Sakura complied hesitantly as Sasuke slid the thin fabric of her thong that was covering her opening and slowly lowered herself, eventually greedily swallowing up all eight inches of him inside her. She tightened her grip around his neck trying to keep herself from screaming in agonizing pain and pleasure right into Sasuke's ear. Sasuke placed a hand on each of her hips and raised and lowered her with a steadily increasing tempo until Sakura was bouncing up and down at a constant rate. Sasuke was hitting her sweet spot each time. She felt a tight knot building up inside her and it was about to explode when Sasuke pulled out of her.

"_No, not yet"_ he told himself, _"I want to enjoy her for a bit longer."_

Sasuke made her 'dismount' him so she was standing on the floor in front of him. He tugged her thong once making it fall to the floor. He raised his gaze to her deep green eyes that were fogged over with a cloud of lust. They stood there for a few moments before Sasuke pushed her backwards onto the bed. He claimed her lips with lustful ferocity and he slid a hand aggressively down her body. Sasuke positioned Sakura so she was on her hands and knees on the bed. He came up behind her on his knees then slapped her butt leaving a red handprint.

Sakura howled in pain then shouted "what the hell was that for Sasuke?!"

Sasuke smirked replying "because I felt like it."

Sakura furrowed her brows and was about to ruin her position by turning around to face him, but Sasuke stopped her and placed a hand on each of her hips. Before she could register how she'd been stopped, Sasuke thrust into her to the hilt. Sakura moan and almost collapsed, but she managed to find the strength to stay on her hands and knees. Sasuke then made a rhythm of thrusting in and out of her.

"h…" she whispered.

Sasuke only made out the first letter of what she was saying so he asked again. She repeated herself and Sasuke smirked asking her to do it once more.

"Harder!" she cried for the last time.

Sasuke complied to her request and began power packing his thrusts with small amounts of chakra infused into them as well for added effect. Sakura was about to cum once more, but Sasuke stopped the process.

Sakura was irritated and asked "why can't you just let me climax and be done already?!"

Sasuke frowned then said "that's not the attitude you should have during sex."

"Get over it" she sneered.

Sasuke rolled his eyes then placed her under himself. She lye there defenseless and naked. Sasuke was hovering just inches above her. He slid his knee in-between her two legs to make sure she was still wet. When He concluded that she had lost any of her feminine-natural-lubricant, he positioned himself so that he was in-between her legs. He bent down to dominate her lips once more. Sasuke clasped hands with her as well, and intertwined their fingers. Once he felt that she was properly restrained and ready, he thrust into her with a chakra being channeled to his cock to add to the pleasure. Sakura felt how this entrance was different from the last two and felt her world go in several directions. She felt a wave of pleasure and then as the pleasure washed away like the wave of and ocean, she was overtaken with fatigue.

"Move in with me" Sasuke ordered with a slight undertone of asking as he fell on his side next to her panting and pulling her into his arms.

Sakura snuggled closer to him and asked "will I get a break from your 'male' needs?"

Sasuke raised a brow somewhat confused.

Sakura rolled her eyes then added "I don't want to wind up having sex every night…"

Sasuke smirked and replied confidently "but you know you love it."

Sakura sighed at his Uchiha ego and gave up. She didn't even bother to answer his question as she drifted off into sleep. The last thing she recalled was he kissed her forehead and whispered something incoherent in her ear that she couldn't quite make out.

_**To Be Continued…**_

I hope you enjoyed this chapter!! I tried to make it as long as I could. I also want to know what you like of the 'improved' smut part in here. I know it's kinda long and dragged out, but I tried to put in snip-its of humor in it =)

I also don't know when the next time I'm going to update is… DON'T FREAK!!

It's not like I'm taking a whole year off from this or something. I will defiantly update within the next month, that's for sure. So I hope that you guys like what I've put in here so far and again, I'm sorry for the wait!


	5. The Intrusion

**Disclaimer: **I DO NOT own Naruto.

Hey! I'm sorry that it's taken me a while to update. I hope that you still have this on your story alerts list! I would've updated sooner, but finals and then having to deal with getting ready to go to California put things on hold. I was spending my first week of summer, and only week before my long trip with my boy friend. It was fun. I miss him :') I wish I could've just stayed there with him, but I apparently _have_ to go… so it sux. But I know I'll see him again. But not until after our 3rd monthsary :3 It's kinda sad… but he also has to go to some kind of summer camp too. He might not even be there when I get back! Anyways, I'm currently on the road headed to California from Georgia. Today We're headed to Las Vegas for a short detour. I hope all goes well, as long as my dad's not driving... he's a great motorcycle driver… but not a good car driver. I currently hardly have enough room to even sit right… my family decided to pack our whole freaking house into this car… I just brought cloths, my mangas, summer reading, camera, iPod, cell phone, and pillow. My brother brought his base and laptop, my dad brought his guitar and laptop (which I'm using to write this), and then my mom brought her entire closet and every last bit of her two thousand pounds of make up…

I didn't bring any musical instruments, make-up, hair accessories, or any other useless items that'll just wind up taking up space…

Anyways… enough of my griping =)

I hope that you all enjoy reading this! I look forward to reading your reviews soon!

PLEASE R&R! ^(^0^)^

**Ashiteru** _3_

"_You_ have to do this" Sasuke said in a stern voice staring at Sakura with pensive onyx orbs.

Sakura had a blank face, but her eyes were like that of a puppy dog's. She wasn't sure what she should do. She was the only one in the hospital at that moment that could do something, and by the time she ran to get her sempai, it would be too late. Sakura made her mind up right then and there and accepted the challenge with a determined nod and a fierce gleam in her eyes.

"I will" she said to Sasuke as she ran behind the double doors down a hallway. Just seconds later the red light above the door turned on which meant that they were starting.

Sakura ran into the room and started barking orders at the lower ranked medic-nin who were assigned to assist her with the procedure.

"You, get a drip IV in his arm!" she said pointing to a medic-nin who saluted after the order was given and jogged off to complete the task assigned.

"You!" she said pointing at another, "Get a reading on all his vitals and hook him up to a reader so we can monitor them real-time. And You, lay my needed tools in chronological order to the procedure. You, make sure the patient is fully unconscious but be careful not to over dose him!"

Sakura gave many other similar orders all while doing things herself and washing her hands and getting her scrubs on and putting on a facemask.

"ohh... Shikamaru…" Sakura said looking down at the said boy's face with half lidded eyes.

She stroked the loose and sweaty strands of hair away from his face. A depressed expression overtook Sakura's stern and determined facial features as she contemplated all the possible outcomes of what could happen if she were to fail.

"How could this happen to _you_…" she whispered, then her façade came back and her determined look returned as she added "there's no way I'm going to let the love of my best friend's life die like this! She would kill me!"

With thoughts of Ino's wishes in her head, Sakura began to slide the thin material covering Shikamaru's mangled body. She would have to do a very long and hard procedure if she were to save her friend's life. She grabbed a scalpel in one hand, and gauze in the other then started to work.

Outside the operation room in the little lobby a small group of people were sitting with different facial expressions and auras. Chouji was sitting with his arms crossed, eyes closed, and a frown plastered on his features from his mind wandering deep in thought. Ino was sitting with her head tilted back against the wall so she was looking upwards at an angle, her eyes were closed as well, arms hanging loosely at her sides resting on the long bench, and a single tear trailing slowly down her face. Sasuke was sitting with his legs and arms crossed, eyes open, and an expression that was emotionless as ever. Chouji opened his eyes for a quick moment, and it was long enough to see Ino's single tear of despair. Chouji uncrossed his arms and placed a hand on top of Ino's limp ones. Ino snapped her eyes open and turned her head to look at Chouji. She smiled a crooked smile at Chouji's determined look, and he simply nodded in silent reply.

Moments later the red light slowly faded off. Ino immediately jumped up and Sakura came through the double doors with her scrubs covered in blood and a broad smile plastered on her face. To any onlooker passing by she looked like a sick cereal killer, but the three people in the mini-lobby knew that she would rather give the news first, no matter how disheveled she looked, _then_ she would worry about cleaning herself up.

"He's going to make it" she said 'matter-of-factly'.

Ino screamed a scream of relief and flung her self at Sakura. The pinkette was startled but caught her irrational friend in her arms non-the-less and hugged Ino as the blonde's tears of joy intertwined with the bloodstains of her lover on Sakura's scrubs. Sasuke simply nodded with a smirk that said 'I knew you could' and Chouji simply stood up and bowed. Sakura raised a brow at Chouji's ability to be more emotionless and in control than Ino (because it was normally the other way around), who obviously had no control at this point as she continued to profusely cry her happy tears. Then before Chouji turned around Sakura spotted a single tear flow from each eye. He was obviously happy too, but walked away silently. Sakura knew Chouji wasn't being rude, he just didn't have words to speak at the moment.

"Ino, you have to get a grip!" Sakura joked with a smile.

Ino slowly stopped crying then grabbed Sakura's shoulders and Sakura did the same to Ino. They both stood there looking at each other for a few moments until Ino broke the silence.

"I won't ever be able to repay you for what you did today…" Ino said in the most sincere and serious tone Sakura ever heard her blond friend use.

Sakura let go and nodded with a smile. Ino didn't let go but pulled her pink haired friend into a back-breaking hug. Sakura gasped for breath but hugged the overjoyed blond back. Ino let go and ran down the hallway to go tell everyone else who was in the main hospital lobby the news.

"Imagine what would've happened if you _hadn't_ stepped up and tried to go get Tsunade" Sasuke said dryly as he stood up towering over Sakura.

Sakura looked away with a distant expression then whispered "I'd rather not… I succeeded… and that's all that matters…"

Sasuke nodded and then raised a brow at his girlfriend sarcastically asking "you gunna wash that blood off you? Or are you trying to dye your skin another color?"

Sakura rolled her eyes then walked towards the employee washroom not bothering to look back at Sasuke as she did. Sasuke only closed his eyes with a triumphant smirk then opened them to get one last look at Sakura before she turned a corner.

Flash Back To Mission

Sasuke woke up next to Sakura who was still asleep. Her chest was slowly rising up and down, and bother her bands were next to her head with her elbows bent. To Sasuke, she looked like a sleeping pink-haired angel. He slowly slid out of the covers and found some casual cloths to throw on to work on rebuilding the village. They were still far from completing their task.

"About time you woke up Uchiha" Neji said leaning up against a tree outside the hut.

Sasuke had a stoic face on as he walked up the Hyuuga.

Before Sasuke could ask anything like 'how long have you been standing here?' or 'why are you here?' the Hyuuga added "and you might want to wake up Sakura."

Sasuke raised a brow asking "and how do you know she's in there?" pointing at the hut.

Neji rolled his eyes then flatly said "we could _all_ hear you last night…"

The Hyuuga heir could've sworn that he saw Sasuke's cheeks start to redden, but waved it off as a coincidence and said "we need to begin work today. Shikamaru is already assisting the villagers."

Sasuke nodded and walked back into the hut, closing the door behind him.

"Sakura, wake up" he said emotionlessly as he put on his Anbu armor that was strewn about the place from the previous night's events.

Sakura ignored Sasuke's order and just turned on her stomach, burying her face into the pillow.

"Not this again…" Sasuke muttered as he walked over to stand on Sakura's side of the bed.

He shook her shoulders and even tried tickling her, but nothing worked.

"You leave me no choice" he said before positioning his hands.

"EEEEIEPP!" Sakura squealed as she jumped a foot in the air and hit the floor.

Sasuke smirked at the success of his plan. Sakura simply rubbed her sides and glared daggers at the Uchiha.

"What was _that_ for?" She screamed.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and stuck a finger in his ear moving it around muttering "you're making my ears bleed…"

"Why did u tazer me?" she hissed.

Sasuke just ignored her question and started walking towards the door. Sakura collected her Anbu armor with an angry expression and began getting dressed. Sasuke just shook his head at the easily irritable kunoichi and walked out of the hut.

"I think she's menstruating…" Shikamaru whispered to Neji as the two males walked behind the fuming female.

Neji just scowled at Shikamaru's assumption and countered "no I think _you_ are."

Shikamaru crossed his arms and scowled while muttering "troublesome…"

Sakura ignored their whispers and kept trudging off towards the village. She was about to go another step until she felt herself suddenly being covered. Just milliseconds after loud explosions were heard all around them. Right after the chain of five paper-bombs was set off the coverage was gone, and Sakura saw Shikamaru and Neji standing in front of her with scowls and fighting stances.

Sasuke was creating a plan with the villagers about the village's progress and future infrastructure. They were making plans on whether to upgrade it or keep it like the original foundations.

"We need to keep the tradition of our village, it's the only foundation we have left. That's what's been keeping this village in one piece so far" one elder boldly said.

Another stood up countering "this village needs to upgrade, traditions are pointless if people _die_. Out ancestors will be happy that we are getting better buildings and such for the safety of the _villagers_."

Sasuke was standing at the end of the room with his arms crossed and eyes closed (a typical stance for him). The elders in the room paid him no mind. He was simply there as a sort of bodyguard. Once of the elders stood up to speak when suddenly they heard loud booms like fireworks in the distance. Sasuke's eyes shot open with blood intimidation. He glanced at the elders sitting at the table who all nodded at the shinobi in understanding. Sasuke nodded back and jumped out the only window in the small meeting room. He bolted off towards the forest in the direction of the explosions he now not only could hear, but _see_.

"Look what those tree hopping fools sent us Takeshi!" a man said from in front of them.

They were rain village ninjas, two of them. They appeared to be skilled opponents because in a fraction of a second, one of them was standing right in front of Shikamaru.

"Shine!" the rain village ninja yelled as he cast a nin-jutsu that sent Shikamaru flying trough the trees.

"Shadow Weaving!" Shikamaru yelled from where he was squatting on a tree branch.

Sharpened strands of shadows leapt out from the tree towards the unsuspecting ran ninja, but he jumped out of the way and already started making hand signs for a counter attack. Before Sakura could see what all was going to happen Neji grabbed her wrists and flung her ten feet behind him into Sasuke's arms.

"Get her _out_ of here!" Neji yelled at Sasuke with both Sharingan and Byakugan flaring.

Sasuke knew about Neji's ability to evaluate his opponents, and if he wanted Sakura out of here… these opponents weren't a joke. Sasuke held Sakura in his arms and pulled her close.

"Remember what I said to you last night?" he whispered in her ear.

Sakura shook her head and was still paralyzed from the fear of the intense explosions.

Sasuke sighed then said "I whispered that I wouldn't be able to live with myself if anything ever happened to you, and I meant it."

Sakura's eyes widened and she looked up at Sasuke whose Sharingan was now spinning. Sakura felt her body go limp and her world go blank as more explosions were heard going off.

"What was that for Uchiha?" Neji yelled at Sasuke who was holding an incapacitated Sakura in his arms.

"I'll only be a second" Sasuke said as he leapt into the trees carrying Sakura.

Neji knew that Sakura wouldn't go willingly back to the village, so in a way, that sharingan trick _was_ necessary. Neji quickly snapped his attention to the problem at hand and focused on the enemies he and Shikamaru were facing. His lack of attention already caused a laceration on Shikamaru's arm, he didn't want to cause any more damage.

Sasuke bolted into the village leaping from roof to roof and found a small hut to place Sakura in. He set her down inside and placed a note in her limp hand, then left.

Sasuke returned to his team mates still battling and found Neji scratched up and semi-injured. He was able to fight, but not easily. Sasuke looked around then saw no sign of Shikamaru.

"Where's Shikamaru?" Sasuke asked leaping to standing beside his comrade.

Neji pointed to the woods beside them. When Sasuke looked over his eyes widened when he saw Shikamaru with several kunai in him that pinned him two feet off the ground against a tree.

"How in the…?" Sasuke muttered before turning his attention to the enemy who thought that Sasuke was distracted (big mistake).

Sasuke leapt in the air, now furious for the death of his fellow teammate, and made hand signs then yelled "fire phoenix jutsu!"

The rain village ninja below him was completely disintegrated into a pile of ash. The other rain ninja that remained standing looked frightened.

"Neji, take Shikamaru to the hospital. I just saw him breathe. He's still alive, but barely" Sasuke said as he stepped in front of Neji.

Neji nodded and made his was over to his comrade and took him down from the tree taking out the multiple kunai. He activated his Byakugan and noticed that his chakra flow was still existent, but very faint.

"I have to go now if he has any chance at all" Neji said with a dead serious expression.

Sasuke nodded and said "I can take the last one on myself. You saw what happened with the first attack I did."

Neji shook his head at Sasuke's over confidence and flew into the trees with Shikamaru slung carefully over his shoulder.

Sakura woke up in a shed very dizzy and confused. She shot up and panted remembering the last events that happened. Sasuke was saying that he didn't want anything to happen to her, she saw the spokes in his sharingan spinning, and then suddenly everything was black. Sakura sat up and scowled wondering why on earth he would just incapacitate her like that and then ditch her in an abandoned shed. It seemed that he was doing more harm then good. Sakura stood up then heard a slight *skiff* sound as a sheet of paper fell from her hand to the floor of the old dusty shed. She bent down and picked it up then read its contents.

_I'm sorry to make you pass out, but we both know you wouldn't have gone willingly, and I really don't want anything to happen to you. When you wake up which should be fairly soon, go strait back to Konoha. We'll all meet you there. Go strait to the hospital. Something tells me that we'll be heading there first..._

_-Sasuke_

"Oh how nice of him to leave a note…" Sakura said sarcastically as she stretched a bit then bolted out of the shed and ran out of the village.

She reported that she and her team was leaving because the threat was eliminated and they'd helped them get back on their feet, the rest needed to be done by them. The elders simply nodded at her as she explained it to them panting for breath. She didn't have much time to rest, in fact she didn't have _any_ time to rest. She needed to get back to Konoha ASAP. She leapt into the trees and started hopping from branch to branch as fast as she possibly could. She had a bad feeling in her gut that urged her to move faster.

Neji rushed into the emergency room with a bleed Shikamaru over his shoulder. Medic-nins rushed to go get a stretcher to take him to the emergency room in the back. Ino just happened to walk out of the surgery ward and into the lobby to see the sight of blood all over the linoleum floor and traced the trail to that of the love of her life. Ino fell to the floor in despair on her hands and knees trying to get a grip and hold back her tears. It was working, for the moment. Ino looked up as she saw Sakura bolt in just moments after he was placed on the stretcher about to be taken to the back where the ER rooms were located. Sakura saw the scene and gasped and was about to go get Tsunade when she bumped into a rock solid figure and stumbled backwards. She saw Sasuke standing right in front of her and stood up to face him.

"I have to go get Tsunade-sempai!" Sakura said determined.

Sasuke stopped her by grabbing her arm then saying "_you_ have to do this…"

End Flash Back

"She did _what_?" Tsunade roared at Sasuke.

Sasuke crossed his arms annoyed at the Hokage and dryly said "you weren't at the hospital and something had to be done. She was the only one who stood a _chance_ of being able to perform that procedure."

"But that procedure is a challenge, even for me…"

"Then maybe you should put more faith in your apprentice from now on" Sasuke said right before he walked out of the Hokage's office.

He was done bickering. He gave is report to Lady Tsunade, and that's all he needed to do. If Tsunade wanted to talk about it, then she should talk to Sakura, not him. He had nothing to do with what happened at the hospital. He also made it clear that if Sakura hadn't stepped in and taken a risk, then they would have one less elite ninja in Konoha.

"You didn't have to do that you know?" a sardonic voice sounded from behind him.

Sakura pushed her back up off the wall and walked towards him with her arms cross and a semi-scowl on her face. Sasuke quirked a brow at her then continued walking down the hall.

"Wait up!" she squealed.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and ceased walking for the moment. Sakura caught up to him walking at her own pace. When she stood in front of him she still had a scowl plastered on her face.

"Stop looking so cynical" Sasuke said emotionlessly.

"Then stop butting into my business" Sakura sneered.

Sasuke rolled his eyes then said "if I hadn't told her, someone else would've, and it would've turned out worse for you. Because of what I did by telling her first thing, there won't be any consequences for you."

Sakura just let out an "UGHH!" then stomped down the hallway.

Sakura had just about had it with the egotistical, goody-two-shoes, my do-do doesn't smell, Uchiha. Sakura was planning to tell the Hokage herself what had happened. That's the whole reason she was there when Sasuke had emerged from her teacher's office. She found out that someone had beaten her to it.

Sakura trudged up the steps of her apartment and unlocked the door, then squealed.

"WHO ROBBED MY APARTMENT?" she screamed while scanning the vast emptiness of her apartment.

"I did" a sardonic voice mocked from behind her.

Sakura whipped around to find the Uchiha leaning on the door frame leading into her apartment with a smirk spread across his mouth.

"Where… is… my… stuff?..." Sakura asked slowly so as not to blow her top (she was dangerously close).

Sasuke walked up to the fuming pinkette and reminded her of something, "you said you would move in with me, remember?" he asked.

Sakura face palmed her forehead and yelled "I never said _yes_!"

"But you never said _no_ either" the Uchiha countered.

Sakura rolled her eyes then asked "where the hell have you taken my stuff Uchiha? This isn't a game anymore!"

Sasuke knew he was in deep shit now. Sakura called him by his last name, and to add to it, she didn't have any honorifics after it.

"I took them back to my apartment, because that's where _you_'re going to be too."

"I don't think so you egotistical bastard! What gives you the _right_ to break into my apartment and take my things you _your_ place?"

"You're a real pain when you get like this…"

"Then do something about it!"

Wrong choice of words for Sakura to say. Sasuke took a step forward then activated his Sharingan. He made the spokes turn in a spinning motion and concentrated closing his eyes. When he opened them again the pinkette starred strait into them then fell to the floor. Sasuke rubbed the temples on the sides of his head.

"She's _so_ annoying…" the Uchiha muttered walking towards Sakura.

He gently picked her up in his arms bridal style then started walking towards her open door.

"Thanks for the help Kakashi-sensei" Sasuke said while walking through the doorway looking strait up.

The white haired man simply smiled behind his mask raised one hand and said "no problem."

Sasuke wanted to avoid being seen so he didn't travel on the sidewalks or leap on rooftops. Instead, he traveled underground using the trick Kakashi taught him and Naruto. After a few minutes they arrived at the Uchiha compound where he had been residing.

He had cleaned the place up after he got back from his adventurous game of 'kill-the-psychopathic-older-brother'. The place was unbelievably dusty. He converted the room that his parents were killed (where he found Itachi standing behind their dead bodies) into a shrine dedicated to the whole Uchiha clan. He tried his best to find at least one picture of every deceased member. The walls of the room were covered with hanging pictures. Then he had tables moved in. One of the tables had a picture of his mother and father with some candles and a small plaque with their names and the Uchiha symbol on it.

Then there was a smaller table with a picture of his brother. Even though he killed his only brother, it was still in his heart to make him a memorial. He wasn't always the bad guy. He only did what he had to. Sasuke honored that about his older brother.

The Uchiha grounds were well kept and on top of that 80% of it was just empty. No one lived in over half the houses. The whole compound was made to hold over 500 people, and there was only one Uchiha left now. 499 people were absent from their living quarters. Sasuke resided in the house of his family. He left his parents' room as a shrine as described above, but he turned Itachi's room into a private studying quarter, and he kept his room the same as always. He just got a queen sized bed instead of the twin he had before. The kitchen was also much the same as it always had been. He kept a picture of his mother on the small shelf above the sink so that he would always remember that this was _her_ favorite room.

He carried Sakura inside the house and placed her on his bed then got dressed out of his Anbu armor and into some more casual cloths. He picked out jeans and a black t-shirt with the Uchiha fan on the back. He knew she would be waking up soon, but he wanted some fresh air. He figured that if he just stepped outside into the garden right next to the house that he would be able to sense when she was awake.

Sasuke had moved her things into a house across from his so she could access her things easily whenever she needed. It was his uncle and aunts house that was right across the street from his, and since they were… no longer alive… he figured they wouldn't mind.

It almost pleased him to fill up the house. It made him feel like the more he filled the empty Uchiha compound, the more it filled his empty and hollow heart.

Sasuke lazily went down the five steps off the porch and into the zen garden to get some fresh air and think. He needed to just have his 'alone time' right now.

Sakura woke up in a haze. She wasn't sure what had happened. One moment she was yelled her head off at Sasuke, and then she went blank. She stepped out of bed and didn't recognize where she was. It definitely wasn't her apartment. Walking down the hall quietly, Sakura got a feel for her new surroundings. Sakura slipped into the kitchen she got a glass of water and leaned against the counter next to the sink. She set the glass down behind her and just closed her eyes trying to relax.

"I always find the women I love in here…" she heard a husky voice say in front of her.

Sakura opened her eyes and saw Sasuke walking towards her, but he walked next to her facing something above the sink. She turned her head to glimpse at what he was so interested in.

"Women?... as in _plural_…?" Sakura asked somewhat ajar.

"Yes…" Sasuke said emotionlessly, "this was where I could always find my mother, and I had a feeling I would find you in here too."

Sakura lowered her head in a little guilt at thinking that Sasuke meant something _else_. Sasuke could read her like a book, so he just smirked. Then he walked out of the kitchen down the hall gesturing her to follow him. She pushed herself off the counter and hesitantly followed him. It seemed like she'd forgotten what had conspired just less than an hour ago.

"I need to show you something" Sasuke told her with his back still turned to her as the two stepped out of the house and walked across the street.

"You should look both ways before crossing" she mocked.

"No one lives in this whole compound but myself" he said.

They crossed the street and walked up the steps of the house in front of them before Sakura asked "What?..."

"I'm the last of my clan…" he said intensely, "this is the _Uchiha_ compound. Why would someone besides an _Uchiha_ live here?"

"Well apparently _I_ am… and _my_ last name is _Haruno_."

"_Not for much longer…"_ Sasuke thought.

The two entered the house and Sakura was taken aback. All her things were neatly and spaciously arranged neatly inside the home. Everything was undamaged and unharmed. This place was definitely nicer than her dinky little apartment.

"How did you…?" Sakura asked wide eyed while running her hands across the familiar pieces of furniture with a silent joy expression.

"Kakashi followed the detailed instructions I left on where to place everything. He did this while we were on our mission. I did this so that I can have you close by, and you can be comfortable here if you don't want to sleep over in my house with me. Everything was brought over here so you can have easy access if you do decide to live over in my house with me."

Sakura looked at the Uchiha deep in the eyes then whispered "thank you… so much…"

"And the rent is you have to help me keep this place clean, the _entire_ Uchiha compound. If your up for it. It's not as hard as you think. My house and this one are the only ones with anything in them, the rest of them are empty and just get dusty from times to time."

Sakura nodded her head with a fisted hand over her heart, and the other hand resting on a side table next to a sofa.

Sasuke smiled then said "dinner's in a few. You can make something if you want to, but if you don't I can cook something."

'Oh! I'll cook!" She said happily searching for the kitchen in her house.

When she couldn't find it Sasuke started chuckling.

"The only _real_ kitchen is in my house. This one only has a fridge, microwave, sink, a few dishes, and a pantry" the Uchiha said with a smirk.

Sakura huffed then walked out of the house and trudged across the street to his. Sasuke simply walked nonchalantly behind her.

Sakura was washing dishes in the sink, occasionally looking up to the picture of Sasuke's mother and admiring her. She thought that Sasuke had a _beautiful_ mother, and to her that was an understatement. Sasuke was across the hall in his private study and Sakura decided it best not to go bug him until she was leaving to go back to her place. After she had washed the dishes, dried them, put them back in the cupboards they went in, and wiped off the table and counter tops she went to go knock on the door of the study room.

"Sasuke," she said calm and quiet after knocking gently three times then adding, "I'm going back over to my place, good night. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

Sakura was about to leave when something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. When she turned her head to get a better view she saw that there was slight lighting coming through a crack in the door at the very very end of the hall way. She slowly and quietly walked into the room and opened the door stepping inside. Her jaw dropped at the sight of the massive and very elaborate memorial that she suspected Sasuke created after he came back. She was astonished, but at the same time she now knew that he wasn't completely heartless. There were candles lit all across the room on various little tables with pictures and some just randomly set around the room. They're small lights gave the room a dim lighting that made the place glow. Sakura stepped forward to one of the larger tables that seemed to have something shiny on it's surface, she kneeled so she could get a better look (the tables were only two feet off the ground). She read the plaque and felt tears tugging at her eyes. She didn't let them fall and sucked them back in, but decided it was time for her to leave. Something inside her told her that what she was doing was wrong.

When she turned around she saw the raven-haired boy standing just a few feet in front of her. Sakura gasped and something told her that she was in deep trouble.

"What are you doing in here?" Sasuke seethed from behind clenched teeth.

Sakura gulped then started stuttering "I was l-leaving, b-but I saw this l-light f-from in h-here, y-you s-see, I-I'm… I'm sorry…"

Sakura felt like she at least owed him apology even though she wasn't sure what she was doing wrong. Sasuke just continued scowling with his arms crossed and turned his back to her.

"Don't _ever_ let me find you here again… this place doesn't concern you…" he told her with a vicious tone before he walked out of the room.

Sakura lowered her head in guilt and sorrow then walked out of the room avoiding the Uchiha's gaze who was leaning on the wall right outside the room. He slammed the door shut and followed her to his door then opened it for her and let her walk out and across the street by herself.

"What have I done?... I don't… understand!" She muttered as tears finally fell down her face once she was inside her new house.

"Maybe coming here was a mistake…" she tried reasoning aloud as she stepped up the stairs.

She got dressed in her pajamas and told herself that she was definitely going to pay a visit to Ino. For more reasons then one.

_**To Be Continued…**_

WOOT! ^(^0^)^ I did the word count thing on this chapter and I think I did a pretty good job with making it long! I also didn't drag it out or anything. I guess I might've when I describe the shrine, but it does play an important part in the chapter and sets the climax for the next chapter's resolution so I a way I felt it was necessary. I hope that you all enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! I also tried to pack some action/violence in it with the mission and stuff for those of you who aren't 100% lovey dovey fans. Personally I'm not either, so I would want a little something like this to break away from the romance just a little bit. I'm also sorry if I made Sasuke a little more mushy in this chapter. I really am trying to keep him ignorant. But when he takes Sakura to his apartment after knocking her out (total faggot/Uchiha thing to do xD) I think that totally does his character justice xD.

PLEASE R&R! ^(^0^)^

I love hearing what you guys think =)


	6. We Fight We BreakUp, We Kiss We MakeUp

**Disclaimer:** I DO NOT own Naruto!

Hey guys! I hope I haven't kept you waiting for too terribly long! I'm really sorry if I've caused any permanent mental damage from the anticipation from the wait. I hope that you all enjoy what I have in store for you! omGOSH I have so many ideas that I feel like willy-wonka and that my stories are candy factories =) and my words are my oompa loompas xDDD and the letters are scrum-didily-ump-shous pieces of candy =)

Now that I've had my daily dose of sped analogies let's get on with the rest of this side note =)

I do have color guard band camp now. I'm going to try and update all my stories at least once before I go to the away portion of camp that I haven't updated since june or later, then I go to La Grange GA for the rest of it… La Grange is like the GA equivalent of death valley in California…. It's going to be absolute HELL!

But I'll take my spiral notebooks with me and jot down ideas and chapter so I can type them up when I get back. For the all day camp portion I SHOULD be able to work a little bit on my stories, but I never know these days. Recently broke up with bf of almost 6 months, being in color guard, practicing my musical-ness, and my artistic drawings all take time! ARG! Anywayz, I'm glad I got a chance to update this one.

This fan fic is one of my second most popular fanfics out of my five stories I have, well out of the four for Naruto, I have one Aquarion story going, so for those of you who have seen that AWESOME anime I encourage you to read my fan fic, and of course my pairing is Apollo and Silvia =)

I hope you enjoy this story! THANKS SO MUCH FOR ALL THE REVIEWS! =D

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**Ashiteru 3**

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"Ino!" Sakura shouted while pounding on her best friend's door, "Ino open this damn door right _now_!"

Ino didn't know what kind of assault was taking place on her poor front door, but she had a good idea of who was dealing the blows. Ino had just woken up so she was half lidded when she opened the door.

Sakura was about to deal another blow to the door when Ino opened it and Sakura stopped her fist a centimeter away from her best friend's face.

Ino shot backwards cross-eyed from the sudden shock. She then returned to her half lidded state and invited Sakura in. Surprisingly, Ino had become accustomed to her friend's radical behavior, it was simply just another formality for her to deal with in this world.

"Can I get you anything?" Ino asked as she plodded behind Sakura who was walking into the living room to sit on the sofa.

Sakura shook her head then looked down at her palms and let her hair cover her face from Ino's view.

"Uh-oh…" Ino whispered under her breath.

Sakura looked up with a raised brow but before she could say anything Ino said "wait right here I'll be right back. I have to get dressed and then make something really quick."

Sakura just nodded and sat on the couch contemplating how she was going to tell Ino about what had happened the night before between her and Sasuke. It shouldn't be too hard, but she felt like she might make Ino furious with the Uchi-brat and go start another great ninja war over it. Ino _did_ have a tendency to get carried away with her emotions, but then again, so did Sakura.

Sakura saw Ino shuffle into the kitchen and heard the clattering of dishes and other things. Moments later Ino came out with two coffees in her hand.

"Here you go forehead, a strawberry espresso for you, and a mocha latté for me!"

Sakura looked up somewhat confused at Ino, but took the cup none the less. Ino must've known that Sakura was here because she was depressed, otherwise Ino wouldn't have made that gosh darn heavenly strawberry espresso…

"Ino…" Sakura said as she rubbed the rim of the coffee cup, "I think Sasuke's just using me…"

Ino's face suddenly turned shocked and utterly confused. She knew that Uchiha was manipulative when he wanted to be, but how could he do that to her best friend? The bastard!

"Ino…" Sakura whispered, "Please, don't go do something you'll regret…"

"Why would I regret annihilating something that should've never existed on this planet?" Ino shrieked waving her fists as she stood up.

Sakura face palmed herself then said "I only said that I _think_ that's the case. That's why I came here. I want you to find out for me. Then let me know."

"Why do you think he's using you?" Ino asked in a serious tone with a scowl on her face.

"Well… we just haven't been getting along lately, and it just seems like he only keeps me around to ward off all those oogling fan girls of his…" Sakura said as emotionlessly as she could while playing with the palms her hands.

"That bastard!" Ino yelled, "I'll _beat_ the answer out of him!"

"NO!" Sakura yelled as she stood up, "I just want you to tell me if he's using me or not…" she whispered quietly then took her seat.

Ino was about to retort when she heard footsteps coming down the hall and stopped mid-breath to turn her head towards the doorway. Only to find Shikamaru on crutches giving a cold baggy-eyed glare towards the two of them.

"What the hell is all this yelling?" Shikamaru asked in an annoyed tone of voice.

"Sorry honey we'll keep it down…" Ino said as she walked towards her lover to go tuck him back into bed.

When Ino came back after being slightly embarrassed she gave Sakura her word that she would get the answer from him, without beating him… Much to Ino's displeasure.

"Thank you Ino…" Sakura whispered as she headed to the door.

Ino already knew what happened, Sakura probably was being nosy and stumbled upon something important to the Uchiha and he got mad at her. Ino wasn't a master she didn't know what the blanks were, but she put two and two together and pieced together a surprising accurate portrait of what happened.

* * *

Sakura walked into the Uchiha compound then walked into Sasuke's house hoping he wasn't awake. She wanted to make him breakfast and then leave again to have some alone time for herself, but she didn't want to leave him with an empty stomach.

As she crept into the house she was startled by a low husky voice, "so where have you been?"

Sakura leapt up in the air and landed square on her butt in the hallway looking into the living room.

She scratched the back of her head and laughed nervously, "nowhere…heh-heh…"

"I'm not buying it…" Sasuke said flatly as he ate the breakfast he made himself since he woke up and Sakura was no where to be found.

Sasuke got up and walked towards the pinkette now standing back up on her feet, or at least trying to, and said "if you plan on going out somewhere at least leave a note."

Sakura fumed at the arrogance of the Uchiha.

When he had walked by her she hissed "like you would _ever_ grant me the same courtesy" and stormed back off to her house across the street.

Sasuke just let out an annoyed sigh then locked himself in his study room. When Sakura returned into her respective house across the street she closed the door and put her back against it then lost herself in thought.

_Why are we fighting like this?... isn't there something that I can do to fix it?... But then again, what did I do wrong?..._

_

* * *

_

Sakura kept over thinking and overanalyzing the situation at hand and kept telling herself that there was something that made her fall short and made her annoy Sasuke. She kept thinking that maybe it would be better if she just left. She decided against it because one crucial factor remained, was he or was he not using her? If she could find the answer in that question it would answer many others that had crossed her mind, including whether or not she would stay there.

Sasuke was busying himself in his study and became frustrated at his lack of understanding. He read the words and analyzed the information from the numerous books he was reading, but none of it sank in it just went in one way and back out the other. He then decided to just give it a rest and went out to the garden in the back of his house. He sat down facing the pond of koi-fish and thought about the event that had happened earlier that morning. He thought of why he had come off angry to Sakura, when he was only concerned, and even though he would never admit it he was worried too. Sasuke was never one to show emotions or attachment to people. Naruto was the only exception because of their brother-like friendship, but he even limited his emotions with Naruto to a certain extent. Why was Sakura subconsciously pushing his limits and pressing his buttons? He knew she wasn't trying to at least, she was just being herself, and as long as she didn't change, neither would he.

They were both stubborn and set in their own ways. Maybe that was their problem. As Sasuke thought it over, he realized that that was the reason why he had been attracted to her in the _first_ place. Not just the fact that Kiba had dared him to do it with her and wound up getting her pregnant. They seemed to get along better when she had a baby inside of her and their relationship had a purpose. What was the drive for it now? Just each other's company?

Sasuke wasn't sure what the answer was, but one thing was for sure, he needed to apologize. As much as the word "sorry" burned his tongue like an inferno, he knew that was what he needed to do, what a _man_ needed to do. His father had often told him that when a boy turns into a man he learns what he must do to protect and care for the people he loves, whatever it takes to keep them close to you. Even as a boy, Sasuke's father had often taught him things about being a man.

Sasuke having figured out his answer, got up from the koi pond with a mind much more at peace than before. He returned into his study and was actually able to function properly. Sakura on the other hand, was freaking out in her own home thinking and loosing herself so badly in thought that everything just went blank. Eventually she found herself asleep and wound up passing out from mental exhaustion on her sofa. She just couldn't take the stress anymore. She thought that venting to Ino might've fixed things, but to be truthful, she was nervous that Ino might do something reckless that would ruin her chances with Sasuke. She was technically in a relationship with him, but it wasn't like anything was permanent. He could break it off whenever he wanted to.

* * *

Sasuke decided that he would leave Sakura be for the time being and go into town for a nice walk and maybe pick up some things for Sakura to make dinner. She had left a list in the kitchen and forgotten it, but Sasuke thought that maybe he should just get what she needed and leave her be. He didn't know if she was angry, upset, or _both_.

"_Uchiha_…" he heard a malice voice hiss from behind him.

When Sasuke turned around he was face to face with Naruto. Sasuke just kept a blank face wondering what the blond nuisance wanted this time.

"Sasuke-teme! You promised you would spar with me this morning!" Naruto shouted waving his arms in the air like a chicken with its head cut off.

Sasuke rolled his eyes then grunted "something came up."

"Don't give me that crap!" Naruto yelled, "Let's go! Right now!"

Sasuke closed his eyes and pinched the skin between his eyes then muttered "I don't have time for this right now dobe, later."

"You _bastard_! I want to spar! Right now!" Naruto yelled relentlessly following the Uchiha.

Sasuke finally fed up with his blond friend's nagging for the past fifteen minutes decided to give the blond what he deserved, a good ass kicking.

"Fine" Sasuke grunted as he turned around with his Sharingan activated.

"Right here, right now!" Naruto yelled making fists.

"Hold it!" a third voice shouted and stepped in between the two enraged men.

Whoever it was, they had a lot of confidence to step in the midst of a battle that was on a whole other level with the skill sets each of them possessed.

"I have some business with this Uchiha first Naruto, I'll only be a minute, I promise" Ino said as she drug the Uchiha away by his shirt collar.

Sasuke would've broken free from the annoying grip of the Kunoichi, but he would rather be drug away than deal with the other annoying blond around the corner annoying the fire out of him, literally.

"We need to talk" Ino said as she released his shirt collar and stood in a snooty pose with her hands on her hips and an irritated expression on her face tapping her foot.

"What do you want" Sasuke said flatly crossing his arms with a scowl plastered on his face.

"I need a 100% honest answer to a question."

"What?"

"Are you using Sakura?"

Sasuke remained silent and simply glared at the arrogant blond girl glaring right back at him with just as much ferocity.

"You know" Ino said with a snooty tone, "to ward off all your crazy malevolent fan girls?"

Sasuke took offense to the question and how it had no grounds for discussion. He attempted to walk away when he felt a firm hand on his shoulder.

"Answer the question" Ino said growing more and more impatient with the Uchiha, tightening her grip on his shoulder, "It's important."

"No" the Uchiha said flatly shrugging off Ino's hand and walking away.

Ino stood there with her arms crossed, eyes closed, and a satisfied smirk on her face. She went off towards the Uchiha compound to go talk to Sakura, since Sasuke wouldn't be there. Ino had a feeling that he was getting some fresh air, and picking up a few things to take home, so he would be a while.

* * *

Sakura woke up to a loud pounding on her door. It felt like the room was spinning and everything was blurry. It was almost like she had a hangover. Sakura knew that wasn't the case so she slowly stood up off the sofa and walked to her door where the pounding was coming from. She opened the door only to see her friend Ino.

"Ino…" Sakura mumbled, "what are you doing here so late?"

Ino raised her brow and gave her pinkette friend a skeptical look then said "what are _you_ talking about? It's only 5pm! It's not late at all girl!"

Sakura rubbed her eyes then turned her head to look at the coo-coo clock by the door. She found out that Ino was right, it really only was 5pm.

"Oh…" was the only word Sakura managed to say.

Ino let her self in and sat down on the sofa in the living room. Sakura closed the door, yawned, and then followed her friend back into the living room. She was wearing blue shorts (like sophies) and a pink tank top, as well as her fuzzy pink slippers. She settled down on the sofa then placed her hands in her lap and played with them.

"You know why I'm here don't you?" Ino asked while giving her friend an 'are you serious?' look from how depressed she seemed.

Sakura only nodded in reply while Ino crossed her arms and just glared at her pessimistic friend.

"He's not using you" Ino said flatly.

Sakura quit fiddling with her hands and froze.

She didn't dare look up to look her friend in the eye, but now she knew the way Sasuke was acting was for a reason. He had grounds to be concerned where she'd been, and even though he might not have left her a note, she was the kind of person who did leave notes about her whereabouts so people didn't worry. Sasuke was only thinking of her safety.

By the time Sakura had come back to reality from her lost venture of thought, Ino was gone, no where to be seen. She must have let herself out, just how she had let herself in. Sakura looked at the clock and realized that it was almost time for her to cook dinner and scrambled to find her grocery list, she then remembered she left it over at Sasuke's house and crept across the street and hoped he wasn't home.

When she walked inside she didn't sense his chakra so she began looking through cupboards and drawers frantically searching for the missing grocery list of the things she needed to get for dinner. She should already be making it by now, but that visit from Ino had distracted her.

"Looking for this?" Sasuke asked holding up a small sheet of paper in his hand, and groceries in the other.

Sakura stood up and turned around to see him standing there with _her_ grocery list and _her_ grocery shopping. She was so shocked and confused that she just stood there blank faced and dumbfounded. How come Sasuke would do something like this?

"Sorry for earlier" he said in a casual and insincere tone of voice as he set the groceries and grocery bags down on the kitchen counter then walked into the living room and sat at the table on the floor and turned on the TV.

Sakura sweat dropped at how casually he tried to apologize, but then again, this _was_ Sasuke. He never even said that word to _anyone_, so she should count herself lucky. She just let out a sigh of frustration and began cooking dinner.

* * *

She made a miso soup with a separate dish of lomaine. She set the table up and somewhat ignored Sasuke's staring at her and took her seat next to him facing the TV. The two of them awkwardly ate in silence.

"Sakura" Sasuke said getting the kunoichi's attention, "There's something else."

Before Sakura could answer with a question of her own, "Wha-"

(if you want play "Like That" by JoJo)

Sasuke had her in a lip lock and was leaning over her causing her to drop her chop sticks and wrap her arms around his neck. Sasuke instinctively lowered her to the carpet between the table and the sofa. He was on all fours supporting his weight on his two hands on each side of Sakura's head. He gently moved from her mouth to her jaw line to her ear then down her neck to her nape where he nipped at her skin. She let out a slight moan but Sasuke knew she was holding back, so he stealthily moved his hand up the back of her shirt and undid her bra clasp. Her eyes widened for a minute, but Sasuke just ignored it and smirked. He pulled the straps through the sleeves of her shirt then slipped it out from under her shirt. Sasuke could see that her nipples were almost fully erected through her shirt.

"_Sneaky bastard…"_ Sakura muttered mentally, _"Two can play at __that__ game…"_

She had a sly smirk plastered on her face which made Sasuke a little uneasy. He raised a brow and gave her a questioning look then she arched her back and pressed her chest up against his. He still had a shirt on, but he would feel _everything_. It was so _enticing_ that he couldn't help himself he lost almost all control.

Sasuke slid off his shirt then bent back down to claim Sakura's lips in a passionate, fiery kiss. Sakura let out a slightly louder moan than the one before. Sasuke grinned with satisfaction as he slid his hand under Sakura's shirt and cupped one of her breasts. She took both of her hands and grabbed the arm Sasuke was using as he massaged and rubbed her breasts using his thumb to make circular patterns around her areola. Sakura's face was red and her breathing erratic as she squirmed underneath his touch.

Sasuke reclaimed her lips once more to calm her down has he let his weight fall on her slightly pinning her to the floor. Sakura broke away from the kiss and took a deep breath as Sasuke slid her pants off. Sakura smirked and slid his off as well. Both lower body coverings were tossed aside and the two entangled their limbs again.

Sakura giggled then said "you get everything you want, ne?"

Sasuke bent down so his mouth was right next to Sakura's ear then with a blow of hot air against her ear he whispered "almost everything" then licked her earlobe sending shivers down her spine.

Sakura squirmed once again from his breath fanning so close to her. Sasuke simply smirked in amusement. This girl knew just how to mess with him, without even trying.

"Sas-sasuke k-kuuun!" she whimpered as he slid his tongue along her jaw line.

Sasuke slid his hand back out from under her shirt and slid off her shirt and was face to face hovering over her. He just looked into her lust clouded eyes while the ends of his raven locks tickled her face. She giggled from the black hair skimming her face and squirmed a little. Sasuke smirked then claimed her lips again.

Sakura decided it was her move and reached down and played with the elastic band of Sasuke's boxers.

"what did I tell you about teasing me?" Sasuke slightly playful tone.

Sakura just giggled as Sasuke moved her hand and took the boxers off himself and tossed them aside.

"Hey aren't those the-"

"Hn" he said then cut her off and kissed her placing two fingers against the outside of her panties to feel how wet she was.

(He was wearing the boxers that he was given for his birthday from the last chapter xD)

Sakura moan in his mouth as he applied the pressure to check.

"_This should be enough" _he thought to himself.

Sakura arched her back as she felt Sasuke playing at the entrance to her womanhood. She moaned and fidgeted. Sasuke decided to slide two fingers in, and then while she was preoccupied with the pleasure he slipped the panties off and tossed them aside like all the other articles of clothing. Sasuke felt her juices running down his fingers then took them out and licked them in front of her face seductively.

"_Damn…"_ she mentally hissed, trying to keep herself from forcefully speeding things up.

She decided that this time, Sasuke was going to have total control, to make up for earlier. This would be like her own apology.

Sasuke noticed how Sakura had seemed to stop squirming from his fingers so he made scissors with them inside her. He flexed and contracted the muscles in her canal. Sakura didn't know where he'd learned this, but it was making her head spin.

Sasuke soon lost amusement in his new trick and drew his fingers out and licked the entrance of her love pocket. When he raised his head back up to look at her, Sasuke stroked her inner thy and saw how her eyes were glazed over and half lidded, and her cheeks had a rosy tint to them as well.

"Now for the fun part" Sasuke said with a smirk as he held onto Sakura's waist and thrust into her.

Sakura let out a cry of ecstasy as Sasuke picked up the pace and began to quicken his speed as he thrust to the hilt inside of her. He hit her sweet spot every single time. She almost came, but Sasuke wouldn't loose her yet. He pulled out and dropped on all fours in between her legs panting and wiped the sweat from his brow. Then he sat on the floor and had Sakura straddle his lap. She positioned her entrance right above his bulging member and dropped down.

"_We've done this position too many times…"_ Sasuke thought to himself as he bounced Sakura up and down on his lap pulling in and out of her.

He stopped the bouncing then decided to try a new position. He set her on the couch so her back was lying down but from the waist down she was off the couch and her feet were on the ground. (The butterfly position /sp_)

Sakura moan as Sasuke thrust in and out of her. He then decided to take the pleasure up a notch and started rubbing her clit ever so gently as not to desensitize it to the touch.

Finally in a whirlwind of uncontrollable ecstasy Sakura came with flying colors. Sasuke soon followed due to the contraction of Sakura's vaginal walls.

"That… was... the best… make-up… sex…EVER!" Sakura chirped in between pants of fatigue.

"Then don't ruin it" Sasuke said bluntly while covering her mouth and making his way onto the couch using the arm rest as a back rest and pulling Sakura up into his lap then draping a blanket by the in table over both of them. Sasuke didn't dare close his eyes. He might miss something, that and he felt himself becoming protective/possessive of Sakura. What felt weird was that it was a different kind of possession. It wasn't selfishness, or greed, but it was… love?

Sasuke wasn't sure, but as soon as Sakura fell asleep he kept one arm draped over her waist and used the other hand on the other arm to hold the TV remote. He kept the volume down so as not to wake up his sleeping beauty.

Sakura looked so peaceful and childish resting on his chest, with her open palms resting on each side of her head on his chest. Sasuke just smirked wondering how many more moments like this he would get to experience with her. If it were his choice he wouldn't put a limit on it, but life didn't work that way. Everyone has their own choice, she could choose to split up with him. Sasuke doubted it, but also everyone's life had a span, no one lived forever. For Sasuke, his choice was now, or never.

* * *

_**To Be Continued…**_

_**

* * *

**_

Tank you so much for reading this chapter! I hope I made it long enough for you. I decided to try and keep the smut fresh, but recently I've actually been having to think about what I was going to do for it, it didn't just come to mind. Surprising really, but anyway, I hope that you enjoyed it!

PLEASE TUNE IN AGAIN!

* * *

**innocent blusher:** why thank you!

**C.A.M.E.O.1 and Only:** I know it's cold, but Sasuke is a human ice cube, remember that.

**xXFallenAngelKittehCatXx:** thank you. I'm glad that people like me as an author and don't just like the story itself. I have some other stories in my collection on my page if you want to look. Just help yourself! Haha xD

**Brooklyn-King00: **well here's the update for ya! I'm glad you liked the lemon (: I try

**Sakura Uchiha: **N/A (you only put "update soon!")

**wisdomtulip:** He's _very_ Narughty =) *whip crack sound*

**kaysshi: **you stayed up _that_ late? Just to read _my_ fanfic? Why I'm honored ^_^


	7. You're Always Gone!

**Disclaimer:** I DO NOT own Naruto.

Hahaha I'm sorry but it LITERALLY hurts to type right now T^T because since I'm on saber line on color guard at my school my fingers have gotten all bruised and bloodied… LITERALLY! So it really hurts to type this, but you all, my readers, are totally worth it =))) you guys are the whole purpose of my writing these. I like to know that my literature is appreciated ;D

I hope that you all enjoy this story. Lol, in the last chapter just about EVERYONE made a comment on my lemon in the review. I actually thought I did a sloppy job but if _that_ many people had _that_ many nice things to say about it… well I guess majority rules xDDD

PLEASE R&R! ^(^0^)^ woot!

* * *

**Ashiteru  
**

* * *

(about a month later from where the last chapter was)

Sakura woke up one morning cold. She pulled the bed sheets over her half sleeping figure and curled up in an attempt to be warm.

"Still in bed at the hour?" a voice asked while ripping the covers off the poor pinkette, "tisk tisk! It's so nice out!"

"Ino…" Sakura growled murderously under her breath as she slowly sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"You're going to be late for work silly!" Ino chirped with a smile sticking her tongue out at her friend.

Sakura now alarmed looked over at the clock on the bed stand that read "8:57am". Sakura panicked, because her shift started at 9am. She was scurrying around the room desperate to find her hospital uniform. Tsunade had been working her extremely hard lately at the hospital. Sakura had been getting zero missions and double work time. Part of it was her training, but Sakura was on a level where she could train herself to get stronger, she didn't necessarily need Tsunade for that. The thing that was bugging her most was that Sasuke was almost on missions. He normally came back for one day and was gone for days, in some case, weeks. Sakura was jealous because she wanted to go on missions too. Although she had to admit, it wasn't like she was bored. Maybe that's why Tsunade had signed her up for so many shifts at the hospital, so Sakura wouldn't feel bored. There were always things she could do at the hospital from check ups, to ER situations. When she was about to kick Ino out of her house and eat her breakfast, her pager went off. It was from Naruto, there were three words that she hoped to never see in the same statement.

_Sasuke, Hospital, Now!_

Sakura panicked once more and fled out the door leaving her friend who had left a few moments earlier in the dust. The Uchiha compound was luckily close the center of the leaf village which was where the hospital was. Sakura fought the urge to cry. Crystals were already forming at the corners of her eyes. The last thing she needed was a dead Uchiha. She was already stressed out from work, tired of being alone all the time, and if _he_ died, she really _would_ be alone.

When Sakura burst through the doors she heard her Shishou say "you're late…"

"I don't care" Sakura hissed while panting with a desperate look in her eyes, "Uchiha…"

Her master just frowned at her impertinence then said "he's actually your first appointment. He's in treatment room 208B"

Sakura didn't bother to say anything else to her teacher and took off down the hall running full force. When she burst into the room the door swung open so hard that the wall behind it cracked.

Sasuke just stared wide eyed at her while Naruto whistled and said "daaaaamn Sakura-chan… you sure know how to make an entrance…"

Sakura looked over at Sasuke to see that he only needed a few stitches and maybe had some broken bones, then turned her attention to Naruto. She malevolently hissed his name while taking small steps towards him with a murderous aura filling the room.

"Sasuke-teme!" Naruto shouted taking a few steps back before hitting a wall, "put a leash on your girl friend!"

Sasuke just muttered a few curses under his breath before grumbling "Sakura… stop it."

Sakura snapped out of her previous state as if she shed it like a snake's skin and turned her attention to Sasuke. She had scolded Naruto for scaring her like that. Even though she wasn't allowed to kill him, she was obligated to give him a piece of her mind. She had concentrated some chakra to her hands and healed Sasuke's cuts. She had to give a few of them stitches then worked on the two ribs he broke. When she had finished she had gotten the reader's digest of his whole fighting episode on his Anbu mission. Sakura just shook her head at him. These missions were getting more and more dangerous. Sasuke was almost untouchable, so for him to wind up in the hospital at all is saying something.

"We'll talk about this later" he said in a stern voice.

Sakura was wondering why he suddenly had a harsh tone, but then looked over to a clueless and eavesdropping Naruto. She just glared at the blond headed hyper active boy and nodded at Sasuke then walked out of the room.

"So what are you going to talk about later?" Naruto asked innocently.

"If we didn't need to talk about it in private I would've told you dobe" Sasuke murmured under his breath as he got up and left the treatment room.

Naruto, being to stubborn fool that he is followed after Sasuke continuing to ask pointless questions that only gave him the infamous "hn" answer. Naruto eventually gave up and left the Uchiha in peace. Sakura however, was being badgered constantly by her boss and teacher lady Tsunade.

"Sakura! Go to room C179!" Tsunade shouted at her pupil, "Run faster!"

Sakura just wiped the sweat from her brow and glanced down at her wrist watch.

"_Just a few more minutes… more like 20… *sigh* why does Tsunade work me so hard?"_ Sakura mentally contemplated as she treated the patient in room C179.

Sakura was astounded when the green chakra she was focusing in her hands was beginning to flicker and dying out on her. She was now sweating to try and heal the little boy. Little did she know, her master was watching her from the doorway. The next thing Sakura knew everything went black, but she didn't hit the floor, her teacher caught her and sighed and mumbled something Sakura couldn't hear before everything faded into nothing.

* * *

When Sakura woke up she slowly sat up. She suddenly felt her stomach getting moist. When she looked down she saw that there was a damp cloth residing there currently and that she was a bit woozy from sitting up possibly a tad too fast. Sakura put two and two together and figured that her teacher had put the cloth on her forehead to cool her down. When she checked her forehead she was surprised to find that she had a slight fever.

"If you want to stay conscious, I suggest you lye back down" a husky voice chastised her from the doorway.

"Really?..." she muttered to herself in disbelief that he was actually here in the hospital... again.

The only difference was that this time he was here simply because of her. He hadn't sustained anymore injuries that he needed to get treated. Then Sakura heard her teacher enter the room then say in her normally loud and dominant voice "I checked you out and you are just fatigued and need rest-up, though you do have a slight fever. I suggest that you stay in bed for the rest of the night. I'm also giving you three days off, and absolutely _no_ training. I called Sasuke because you had exhausted your chakra, yet continued to push yourself. The results were you passed out. I had come into the room and caught you in just enough time to keep you from hitting the ground."

"If there was a reason I passed out it was you shishou!" Sakura hissed at her teacher while rubbing the temples of her head.

"I know I was working you hard, but you lack in stamina. That's an important asset to have on a battlefield when your comrades are constantly being injured." Her teacher retorted.

Sakura just sighed knowing that 'teach-knows-best!' and just gave up the fight. Next thing she knew she was being picked up off the table by the Uchiha and he held her bridal style as he carried her out of the room nodding to the Hokage before he left. When they had gotten home Sasuke simply placed her on the bed then headed to the bathroom to take a shower.

His last mission was ruff and the last thing he wanted to hear was that Sakura had passed out working. Sasuke knew that she constantly pushed herself too hard for her own good. It wasn't healthy. He hadn't been too far from the hospital when a medic nin came to him and told him to come pick up Sakura from the hospital because she had passed out.

Sakura pouted as she sat on the side of the bed while playing with her hands in her lap. She decided to make herself useful and whip up some dinner for her and Sasuke. She had been feeling useless lately and knew that by passing out she'd only made herself more of a problem. Sasuke was obviously irritated with doing so many missions and now it's almost as if she's become and assignment too.

She carefully opened a couple of meat packages then heated up a pan on the stove and put some canola oil on it. When it had headed up enough she placed some frozen vegetables in the pan. She placed the lid over the top then took a package of mushrooms out of the fridge and placed a cutting board on the counter. She got a knife from the assortment inside a holder of multiple kinds. She slowly and decisively cut each to be the same size the slid them into a bowl and then put the chicken on the cutting board. She chopped the chicken up into squares then put some seasoning on it and placed it in a separate bowl next to the mushroom and set the cutting board in the sink. When she lifted the lid off the pan she had steam waft into her face and saw that the vegetables were almost defrosted so she added the chicken in to cook with the vegetables. She stirred it around a few times then put the lid back on and went over to the rice maker. She put a few scoops of rice in then set the cooker to be ready when the rest of the dinner had cooked. When she returned to the pan and lifted the lid there wasn't as much steam to greet her but she was able to tell that it needed a stir again. Since the chicken was in the pan it constantly needed to be stirred around so that the chicken would cook evenly on all sides of the cubes it was cut into. While she was mixing it she heard the water stop in the bathroom and the door open into the bed room. While she was adding the mushrooms to the pan she felt the intense eyes of the Uchiha focused solely on _her_.

"_Shit…" she mentally cursed, "He's mad… **really** mad…"_

She continued to stir the mix of chicken and vegetables while she pretended to ignore the Uchiha and his ugly glares while she was cooking. Eventually he broke the silence that was starting to form an uncomfortable tension in the room, almost as uncomfortable as his glaring.

"What the hell do you think your doing?" he hissed with his arms crossed walking towards her.

"Cooking dinner" she retorted trying to keep her cool.

"Really?" he questioned her, "Because I could've sworn that Tsunade told you to _stay_ in bed, which is exactly where I left you."

Sakura gulped, but continued to cook even as Sasuke was hinting at her to stop.

"It's almost ready" she argued as if reading his mind.

"I don't care, I'll finish it, you shouldn't be moving around, let alone cooking."

Sakura just sighed then looked over at him. He was wrapped in nothing but a towel, but she could tell that was because his first priority was her, then getting dressed came second. Eventually she gave up her stubbornness and took one step back from the pan. Sasuke stepped in front of her stirring the mix and then he looked over his shoulder at her.

He eyed her up and down then said "go take a bath, you smell."

Sakura just glared at him and seethed "well I'm not supposed to lift a friggin finger! Remember?"

"If that's how you want it" he muttered annoyed.

Sasuke rolled his eyes then turned the stove off because the chicken was done and set it to the side to cool for a moment while the rice was still cooking. He went ahead and got two bowls out and set them on the counter then took Sakura by the wrist and drug her into the bathroom.

"Take your cloths off" he slightly annoyed as he turned the bathwater on.

The Uchiha bathtub looked almost like a mini swimming pool. It was already almost full so he just put the water heater on. It was the most recent thing on the market so the water would be warm in a matter of a few minutes. Sasuke watched as Sakura slowly discarded all her cloths then stepped into the water.

"It's already warm?" she asked with a raised brow.

"Hn."

Sakura just scowled because she never considered that an answer. Sasuke was tired of having to wait for her to get in and was tired of the glaring as well, so he just approached the tub and shoved her into the water. When she came up from the 3 foot deep tub of water she glared at him with a new ferocity. Sasuke just discarded is towel he'd wrapped around himself and stepped in then walked towards her. She took a few steps back till she hit the tiled wall and stiffened realizing there was no where for her to go. As a last resort she just continued to glare and felt like her legs were going to give out. She was dripping wet and Sasuke had already shoved her in the bathtub, what else could he possibly do?

Little did Sakura know that he was planning to take his sweet time washing her and make her somewhat pay for all the annoying behavior today. (Not abuse her, just tease her)

"What are you doi-" Sakura was cut off by Sasuke's lips crashing into her own.

She closed her eyes and decided to drown herself in the moment because she couldn't remember the last time he kissed her like this. He'd been gone on so many missions that it felt like a life time, far to long for her liking.

When Sasuke broke the kiss he coolly said "now shut up so I can give you a bath."

Sakura just rolled her eyes at his continuous attitude problems but gave in none-the-less… besides, she'd asked for it after all. Well not literally but the way she was acting earlier implied that this is what she wanted. She would never admit it, but she secretly did want it. She wanted to spend time with her almost non-existent lover. As Sasuke washed her body she wanted to die right there and then. She hadn't felt this close to him in ages. Sasuke somehow sensed that this wasn't much torture. He thought that he'd somehow already tortured her and that this was heaven to her. Sakura just smiled as she snaked her arms around his neck and kissed the side of his head. Sasuke was caught a little off guard and raised a brow at her. That was the last thing he was expecting.

* * *

After the dishes from dinner had been washed Sakura plodded into the bedroom and plopped down on the bed. She was already in her pajamas and just decided that she really didn't want to do anything else tonight. If she tried to get close to Sasuke he might just get even more annoyed with her. He would probably be gone by the time she woke up, so she decided to quickly get up and say goodbye before she fell asleep. She crept into the kitchen and saw him filling out a mission report form while sipping a cup of coffee. He made it so he would be able to stay up and get all the things he needed to get done completed before he went off on another mission. They had already informed him that he was supposed to be at a briefing tomorrow morning by 6am.

"You're leaving again, aren't you?" Sakura asked barely above a whisper while rubbing one of her eyes.

Sasuke looked up from his documents and saw her in her oversized t-shirt and tired expression.

"You exhausted, go to bed" he told her.

"Bye" she said as she turned around to return to the bedroom.

Sasuke was confused and asked, "Aren't you supposed to say goodnight?"

"Oh yeah, that too" she muttered as she started walking.

"What?" he asked thoroughly confused.

Sakura sighed then said "you'll be gone by the time I wake up tomorrow on another for mission for kami only knows how long" a tear started to form in her eye before she finished, "so goodbye."

Sasuke noticed the clear substance forming in the corner of Sakura's eyes and got up to go see what was the matter with her.

When he walked into the bedroom he saw her curled up and crying.

"What's the matter" he asked, not bothering to show compassion in his voice.

Sakura sniffled then said "just leave on your mission already… I'm used to sleeping in this bed alone…"

Sasuke felt a small pang of guilt in his chest when he realized just how little he saw her anymore. And with women being such sensitive beings, she must've been so lonely without him. He wanted to be nicer, but how on earth is he supposed to control the mission flow? How was he supposed to be accountable for his talent? He couldn't help that they constantly picked him for high up, time consuming missions due to his success rating.

"Sakura…" he whispered as he reached for her shoulder.

He was cut off by and icy voice that said "save it. I don't need you to make excuses."

Sasuke had had it with her and decided to go to a last resort. He crawled up onto the bed and forced her into his lap. He was sitting square in the middle of the bed Indian style and Sakura was pounding on his chest yelling at him. Her fists did nothing, but her words are what stung him the most.

"You're never home! I hardly see you! I'm always alone! I'm constantly worried about you! When you do come home you hardly speak to me! I feel like nothing but a burden!" She continued to yell the truth into his ears making his heart chip with every syllable.

Finally Sasuke just kissed her senseless as she continued to cry. No more words came out, but she was still whimpering and crying from all the frustration she had endured. Sasuke made up his mind that tomorrow he was going to speak with Tsunade and get things straightened out. He wasn't going to keep leaving the only person left in this world that he truly loved. He was convinced that he truly did love her.

* * *

Sasuke woke up early the next morning at 5:30am. He got dressed and glanced at the sleeping pinkette still tucked snugly under the covers. There was still swelling that was evidence to the emotional break down she had the night before. When Sasuke was done staring at her he quickly headed out the door. He wasn't dressed in Anbu gear, but his normal every day attire. When he arrived at the Hokage's office at 5:45am she was thoroughly surprised.

"Uchiha" she greeted him, "You're rather early, and why aren't you dressed in your proper mission gear?"

"I'm not going" he said strongly and firmly leaving almost no room for argument.

"And why is that?" Tsunade asked with her eyes narrowed.

Sasuke frowned with his eyes closed and his arms crossed before saying "I'm tired of never being home, I might not have a family, but I have somebody that needs me to take care of them. I need to be where my home is, I officially resign from the Anbu ranks and wish to become a Jonin."

Tsunade closed her eyes and frowned in thought. How was she supposed to deal with this? She could easily find a last second replacement, but what on earth was she supposed to do with Uchiha? Finally she had an idea and smirked at him.

"I'll let you stay in Konoha on one condition."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes before grunting "name it."

"You have to take on a 3 man cell of genins. Be their sensei, train them, and you can stay."

"Hn." was the Uchiha's only response as he walked out of the Hokage's office.

* * *

_**To Be Coninued…**_

* * *

OMG! I made that 3,500 words! Woot! I'm so happy! Anyways! Please R&R!

Sorry there were no real lemons in this chapter. I promise I'll make up for it next chapter.

I've responded to reviews on the previous chapter below!

(almost all your reviews made me laugh xD at the very least the made me smile =D)

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**C.A.M.E.O.1 and Only:** haha Ino's naturally pushy anywayz! And thanks! It is sweet! ^^

**kaysshi: **thank you! I hope you did get enough sleep to function the next day though! xD

**Ikuto'slover1112:** haha I'm glad you liked it! Apparently I'm getting better at that sort of stuff! Haha anyways, be sure to tell me what you thin of this chapter!

**Loving Hidan:** thank you! I will keep it up ;D so long as you keep reviewing!

**Cheetay:** my stories are ALWAYS amazing =)

**innocent blusher: **hahaha "*wiggles eyebrows*" lolz well you'll just have to save that for next chapter. I will tell you that even though I didn't put a smut scene/lemon in this chapter. I _will_ put one in the next chapter xD

**annee loves sasusaku:** haha I love the "awesome sauce" thing xD I ought to steal it xDDD

**mellowkid9090: **haha don't worry about me! I'm back up on my feet. I didn't fall on my butt nearly as bad. Even though this relationship was longer than my first one… I think the first one was by far the most emotionally traumatizing because he literally verbally abused me and slowly alienated me. This break up I just didn't like him that way anymore. No drama, no abuse, just a calm and quiet agreement. Kinda nice really compared to the stereo typical break ups nowadays :3…

**widomtulip:** haha thank ya! Ik it was smexy ;D

**Brooklyn-King00:** haha sry to burst your bubble. I don't think I clairified this in the story anywhere but all their parents are dead. Sasuke's are dead (it's true to the TV show in that sense) and Sakura's are dead as well.


	8. A Moment of Sincerity

**Disclaimer:** I DO NOT own Naruto.

Hey guys! I'm sorry that it's been so long! I hadn't really counted on taking this long to update. I'm so disappointed in myself. I had to read the previous chapter to actually know what to write in this one. That's how long it's been :3 I hope that you all can forgive my tardiness! Anyway. I know that you all want me to stop this jibber-jabber so you can read my wonderful and flowing words of my story. I hope to read your reviews soon!

* * *

Sakura woke up to an empty bed and whispered "I knew he'd be gone… but why were my hopes up?..."

She just shrugged at her overemotional behavior and wrapped herself in a robe then greeted the day with a sad aura. She had nothing to do, no work, no training, no cooking, no cleaning, and what hurt most of all… no Sasuke…

She walked into the bathroom and discarded the robe to take a quick dip into the tub to become fully awake. When she got out she got dressed in a black pencil skirt that hugged her knees then a pink blouse. She still wore her hitai-atte because she had her pride to consider. She then grabbed a little black, hand purse and walked out the door. She knew she wasn't supposed to do anything due to the strict orders, but the only people who knew about it were Tsunade and Sasuke. As far as she knew Tsunade was stuck in the hospital with her duties and then Sasuke was off on a mission. There wouldn't be anyone to stop her. As she approached the library to do some studying she found herself at a nice quiet table. She say down and began reading up on the anatomy of the human nerve system. She found herself engrossed in studying and was completely unaware of her surroundings.

* * *

Sasuke was walking out of the Hokage's office and out of the building towards the Uchiha compound. He knew that Sakura would be so tired that she'd probably be asleep and he could crawl back into bed and surprise her when she woke up. When he walked into the house he found it disturbingly quiet, even if she was sleeping. When he walked into the bedroom he almost boiled over with frustration. The bed was made and there was no trace of Sakura anywhere in the house. He walked out of the doors and decided to ask around for her. He finally found Ino who told him that she wanted to stop by the library to do some studying. He nodded in thanks and walked towards that direction trying to keep his cool and keep himself from boiling over and letting his anger show on his face.

"_At least she's not training or working…"_ he told himself trying to find reasons not to blow his top at her and yell to kingdom come, _"You would think that she would've learned by now…"_

When he walked into the library he saw towering bookcases and countless books that he would never be able to read in his lifetime. He finally found the section of the library that held medical books, the only place in the library he would ever think Sakura would be. Then low and behold, he found her hovering over one of her medical books completely transfixed on it. He knew that if she wasn't focused to completely on that book she would've sensed his presence and looked up at him. He decided that he'd had enough of this foolishness and approached the table and somewhat gently slammed his fist on the table right in front of her book. Sakura jumped back in surprise and had to cover her mouth to stifle a scream. Sasuke just looked at her with cold hard eyes.

"I thought you were out on a mission!" she whispered frantically.

"And I thought you were supposed to be in bed" he retorted dryly not caring if other people around them heard the conversation they were sharing.

"We're in a library" she reprimanded him, "show some respect for the other people and lower your voice!"

Then Sasuke decided there was no other option. He took her by the wrist and drug her out of the library as she whispered frantic pleas of protest. She knew once they were outside she would face the full fury of Sasuke Uchiha, the only surviving Uchiha of the Uchiha clan. However when they were outside she found herself suddenly engulfed in strong arms and pressed against a rock solid chest.

"Please, I don't want you to kiss yourself, just get better and stop making things worse for yourself…" He pleaded without sounding desperate in his normal emotionless voice.

Sakura wrapped her arms around his next and snuggled her face into the crook of his neck and nodded. She'd never seen this side of Sasuke before. She didn't know he had a caring protective side. She'd seen his jealous protective side, but not the caring one. In all of her time she'd been with him she had never experienced this kind of warmth he was emitting. After that little fluffy moment they shared together outside of the library they went home and Sakura complained, but none-the-less went to bed. She didn't like just laying in bed. She was a very active Individual who couldn't stand staying in one place for too long. She appreciated the mobility her legs granted her and never took it for granted.

Once Sasuke was satisfied that she was going to stay in bed, he left the compound and headed to training ground 3 where he was supposed to meet his new squad. That was the place where he and his team had first gotten together. He shook the memories out of his head as he approached the three child like figures that seemed to be… playing?

He landed on the ground and it seemed as if he was being ignored while staring at the unfazed children continuing to play their pointless game of tag, or so it seemed that was the game they were playing.

"Time to stop playing ninja" he stated coldly causing the children to stop in their tracks, "And act like _real_ shinobi. Game's over, every mission your lives are on the line…"

All the children gulped at their sensei's sinister aura. Takashi, a black shorthaired boy, crossed his arms and scowled at his sensei returning the sinister look that was being cast at him. The other two genins were girls so they just clasped each other's hands and cowered in fear.

Sasuke pinched the skin between his eyes then told the two girls, "You can't be afraid of every person that gives off an evil aura. There are people with scarier auras than mine. I simply am frustrated at seeing the lack of talent in this squad so far. All I've seen is you guys lolly-gagging and playing games. It's time you step it up a notch and take your training seriously."

The three genins gulped then nodded at their sensei. They didn't want to get on his bad side.

* * *

Sakura was at home and was currently reading one of her medical textbooks. Ino had dropped by earlier and given them to her. It turns out that it was similar to the book in the library that she didn't get to finish studying. Then she scowled remembering how Sasuke had just crudely drug her out of the library like that. It's as if he didn't even care that he was making a scene, but that was just his nature. He was just someone who didn't care about things that weren't too important.

"_Then why did he care that I went to library?"_ she thought to herself, _"does he care about __**me**__?..."_

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard someone walk into the house. She suspected it to be Ino so she called "Ino? Is that you?" right after she said the last words a man leaned against the doorframe of her room.

Her face instantly brightened and she cheered "Naruto!"

Naruto smiled and pushed himself off the door frame then got on this knees next to her bed and crossed his arms on the mattress, "good to see you too Sakura-chan."

Sakura giggled then closed her book and put it to the side, "So why are you visiting me?" she asked.

"Do I need a reason?" he asked jokingly, "but I heard that you'd over worked yourself and were in bed on Dr.'s orders. I looked around town for you because I thought you wouldn't stay in bed due to the way you are, but I couldn't find you so I came here."

"Well I was out of bed and in town, but Sasuke found out and drug me back her kicking and screaming" she replied while her lip was twitching recalling the event.

"Hey where is Sasuke-kun?" he asked looking around.

"He said he would be out for a while, but said that I had to stay here… or else…"

"He didn't tell you why?" Naruto asked slightly shocked.

Sakura just shook her head with a blank expression.

Naruto shook his head in disbelief as he said, "Tsunade told me that he barged into her office early this morning and resigned from the Anbu ranks because he wanted to be with you and he could if h-"

"HE WHAT? !" she asked pitching a fit.

"Calm down Sakura-chan!" Naruto panicked at her fuming temper.

"How cam I? Anbu was his _life_!"

"Not really, you're his life now."

"That's sweet of you to say but I know he'll regret this if really resigns."

"He already did."

Sakura was pinching the skin between her eyes in frustration. Now she had her answer as to why he wasn't gone on that mission. He was now a jounin. She wasn't disappointed in him, she was happy that he would be around more, but she wasn't happy that he was giving up something he enjoyed just for her. He always lived for excitement and danger, which is the exact missions Anbus do. She was still going to be an Anbu, but she was a medic-nin, so she was needed in the village more and would only occasionally be sent out on dangerous missions.

"Naruto… why was he allowed to be dropped to jounin?" she asked in a whispered tone as she thought to herself on what was happening.

"He… he had to take on a genin squad and become their sensei, so that's why he isn't here. He's probably out there training them. He'll be home soon though. I have a feeling he'll just fail them to get out of having to deal with them… typical Sasuke…"

"Hey Naruto?..." Sakura asked softly.

"Yeah?"

"Can we talk about something else?" she asked quietly.

"Un, sure Sakura-chan. Have I told you about the new flavored ramen I tried? It's called 'peanut butter'!"

Sakura gave a grossed out face, but knew Naruto was obsessed with his ramen, and she'd really rather talk about ramen than Sasuke at the moment.

* * *

The genins out on the field were clutching their kunai panting while Sasuke stood unfazed and unscratched. He wasn't even looking at them while they were attacking them. Mostly it's because it was like they were taking turns attacking him to see who was the strongest. He knew that this was a problem. It was like his old squad. They didn't know the word 'team-work'. He basically told them flat out what their problem was. After a while they started to get closer and closer to getting the bells he'd attached to his belt-loop of his pants. Eventually he let them get them because they were using teamwork. Since they caught on faster than he did in his squad he decided to pass them and keep them. He would just have to figure out when to train them. Especially if he still wanted to have some time to spend with Sakura. He finally dismissed them and headed to his house.

* * *

Naruto and Sakura were chatting away on the strangest subjects when they heard the door open, much to their surprise it wasn't another visitor, but Sasuke himself. He stood in the doorway looking at the two and glaring at Naruto.

"Get outta my house dobe…" he muttered as he narrowed his eyes and the numb skulled blond.

"C'mon teme! I was just talking to Sakura-chan!" he whined.

"Well I need to talk to her, so leave" he said dryly.

Naruto stood up from kneeling on the floor and told Sakura his farewells then walked out of the house. Once he was gone Sasuke stood next to the bed and looked at Sakura. It appeared that she'd stayed in bed, but how'd she get that book? It wasn't in the house.

"Where did _that_ come from?" he asked pointing at the book next to Sakura.

"Ino brought it over" she told him.

He didn't sense any tension in her voice, so he figured that she must be telling the truth.

He cleared his throat then told her "we need to talk. I have some things I have to tell you ab-"

She cut him off and spat "Naruto already beat you to it. He spoke to Tsunade, she told him, and he told me, so there's nothing for you to say."

"_Why's she so angry at me?"_ he asked himself as he get irritated with her.

"Now I'm going to bed" she stated dryly and she turned off her bed-stand light and buried her shoulders and below under the covers.

"No you're not" he shot back as he turned the ceiling lights on.

She groaned then sat up and hissed, "What do you _want_ from me?"

He just narrowed his eyes and stated, "I want you to tell me why you're mad."

"I'm mad because you're giving up something you love for me! I'm not _that_ important am I? I just don't want you to be mad later and blame _me_ for being unhappy!" she shouted at him without remorse.

"You _are_ that important" he shot back emotionlessly.

Sakura just looked at him with teary eyes and replied, "Well I don't want you to be unhappy!"

"You're the one who's unhappy" he told her, "and it's my fault."

"Well…" she couldn't argue with that.

He was the reason that she was unhappy. He was always gone and never around when she needed him. He never seemed to care about her anymore, so why just drop everything to be with her?

"You _are_ that important…" he told her again as he sat next to her on the bed, "I know that my voice or eyes don't show it, but you've come to accept that. You also know that if I didn't care about you, you wouldn't live here, you wouldn't know I was constantly thinking about you when I was away on missions, but most of all… you wouldn't have my heart…"

Sakura started to cry after he said that she couldn't stop herself. She didn't think that he was in love with her but he was.

"_Now what?..." _she thought to herself, _"I'm crying uncontrollably, bed ridden, and tired as hell…"_

Sasuke just smirked as he felt her warm tears of joy soak his shirt as he pulled her into a hug. He didn't know exactly what to do at the moment, but he didn't want her to keep crying, even if it was out of joy, it made him upset to see her cry for any reason at all.

"Tsunade let me stay here as a jounin if I promised to teach a genin squad. That's why I was gone, but I'm sure Naruto already informed you. I don't know why you're so mad and at me and why you're having an emotional melt down, but I'm not going anywhere anytime soon… so just relax. I'm not leaving you alone again…"

Sakura just nodded as the tears still fell from her eyes. Her face was now in the crook of his neck and she was delicately placed across his lap as his arms wrapped around her. Sasuke didn't know any other words he could use to comfort her so he just remained silent and listened to her sniffles and sobs as her tears continued to further soak through his shirt.

* * *

**To Be Continued…**

* * *

I'm sorry if it wasn't as long as I intended it to be. I'm kinda in a rush right now to update all the rest of my fanfictions today or at least make sure that they got updated once this weekend. I hope you guys don't mind the wait! I'm terribly sorry. And I'm also not sure when I'll update again. I have a lot of school work to do and sophmore year is a bitch

PLEASE R&R!

Below I've answered your reviews (if they were worth answering if not then you get an "N/A")

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**autumn4real:** haha I'm glad you liked it!

**Akiiya Uchiha:** something like that, but I didn't have room in this chapter for all that. It would've taken away from the SasuSaku drama :3 sorry! Maybe next chappy!

**Ikuto'slover1112:** haha well you'll find you next chapter!

**kayasshi: **ikr? ^^

**xAlternativexMusicxGirlx:** haha why thank you! I strive for my lemons to be authentic and original ;) glad to know my goal was achieved! And ikr? Him as a sensei is like… I don't even know! Haha! And I WROTE it! xDDD

**Sakura's Indecision:** hah thanks for using my name lolz xD

And he is emotionally constipated, that's what makes SasuSaku worth reading, it's what makes it so dang funny xDDD

Hahahaha well those are some great suggestions! I'll keep them in mind ;) but you'll just have to wait until next chapter! xD

**Brooklyn-Kiing00:** haha thanks! It makes me sad to at her loneliness! But you'll just have to read this chapter to figure out how she reacts to him resigning down a rank! It's not what you think! ;)

**TemeBriel: **haha sorry for the wait. I hope you had fun at your grandparents though! xD

**Cheetay:** you'll have to wait for next chapter Cheets ;)

**C.A.M.E.O.1 and Only:** hahahaha they're not married xDDDDDD

**Yamora Love n Friendship: **again haha third or fourth time I've had to put this but all the team genin stuff comes next chappy. You just briefly meet the team in this one. You'll learn more about them later. I wanted to focus on the Anbu resignation drama. Sorry!


	9. Attack! The TwoTails New Jailer!

**Disclaimer:** I DO NOT own Naruto

Hey guys! I'm sorry it's been so long! I was planning on updating sooner, but shiz happens :3 so yeah. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter I wrote. It's been a total pain in the captain's quarters because I typed it up on my cell at school then walking home I was finishing it up and then I was going to e-mail it to myself (I have the original droid not the X or the Droid 2, but it's still a kool phone) and I accidentally pressed the 'discard' button shuffling for my iPod in my pocket. Ain't life a bitch? But whatever I still have some time to at least BEGIN typing this because I have to be at my chorus concert at 7. That also stinks, but whatever I signed up for it so I have to deal with it I suppose. I wish there was a way to sign up for a period that lets you do what ever the hell you want. That would be AWEOMSE! However… I don't think our beloved school system would consider that 'politically correct' so up theirs. I don't really care since I'm typing it up now… but enjoy!

p.s. I still don't know when I'll update again so keep your pants on and just be patient with me I'm still forming a plot on how this thing is gunna go down. I'm not sure when I'm going to end it though. I just don't want it to drag on endlessly and wind up being 100,000 sum-odd words.

REMEMBER TO R&R! ^(^0^)^ WOOT!

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After Sakura was sound asleep, Sasuke quietly made his way to the bathroom. As he took a shower he thought of how he was going to train his squad of genins. He decided that he would figure it out tomorrow when the time came. Once he was done pondering his thoughts in his own little 'Uchiha-wonderland' world, he turned the shower water off and grabbed a towel to wrap around himself. He made his way back into the bedroom then went over to his dresser to pull out a fresh pair of boxers and then his favorite navy blue plaid pajama pants. When he turned around he saw the peaceful expression on Sakura's face. He always wished it could stay that way, peaceful, happy, but he knew that shit happened because life happened and it wasn't going to be all eating skittles and pooping rainbows. Once he was content with how long he'd stared at the pinkette, he crawled into bed next to her and drifted off into sleep.

* * *

Sasuke woke feeling like his blood had run cold. An aura of dread was everywhere. He almost couldn't move, until he heard screams coming from way in the distance from the village. He looked over to Sakura to see her sleeping like a rock. He grabbed his shurikin holster and his ninja tool pouch and put them on then walked out. He was shirtless wearing only his flannel pajama pants, but he didn't care. He wanted to know what the heck was going on. When he was outside of the Uchiha compound his eyes widened in shock at the sight of the leaf village up in smoke and a two-tailed beast running recklessly through the village. He quickly prayed to kami that Sakura stayed in bed inside the Uchiha compound where it was safe.

"Sasuke!" someone yelled below him, "go to the Hokage's office, now!"

Sasuke nodded at the random chunin then humped from burning rooftop to burning rooftop not knowing if one of them was going to cave in and swallow him. He eventually thought it best if he took the ground route, just to be safe. He quickly made his way to the Hokage's office. It was one of the few buildings not on fire, and it was crawling with anbu jounin. He burst into Tsunade's office with a menacing glare that spoke all to clearly 'what the hell is going on?'.

"Take a breath Uchiha. Shikamaru has already found a solution" Tsunade told him pointing to an unconscious boy sitting in the corner of her office.

He hadn't noticed him before. He guessed it was because he was too dead set on getting answers from the Hokage. But when he _did_ look at the boy he almost let the chock show on his face. It was his student, Takashi.

"What do you need _him_ for?" Sasuke asked nonchalantly.

Tsunade gave the boy a weary and almost sorrowful look as she said "he's going to carry the two-tails inside of him…"

Sasuke's eyes widened for a fraction of a second before asking "wasn't the two-tails captured by the Akatsuki?"

Tsunade closed her eyes scowling before she said "when we brought down the Akastuki and destroyed their precious statue the tailed beasts they'd captured escaped. They scattered all over these lands. So far the only beasts not re-captured are the two-tails and the six-tails."

Sasuke wiped a frustrated hand over his face before turning his attention back over to his student. He was starting to squirm, but he wouldn't be waking up anytime soon.

"What do I have to do?" Sasuke asked in a low whisper.

Tsunade rubbed the temples on the sides of her head before saying "we still have some setting up to do. I'd hoped we'd be done by now, but we aren't. I need you to help get everyone to the safety shelters in the Hokage faces. Come to the roof of this tower when you see a blue light begin to shoot up. The people involved in this sealing are me, you, Shikamaru, Shizune, Kakashi, Yamato, and my two anbus, Yugao and Towa."

Sasuke nodded then bolted out of the office and went to the compound. He had to get Sakura out of there. He kept a stoic expression on his face as he walked into the house he picked Sakura up and began carrying her to the shelter. He thought that since she slept like a rock that she wouldn't wake up, but he was proved wrong when the smoke from the fires caused Sakura to cough and brought her back to reality from her dreams. It took her a few moments for it to register that Sasuke was carrying her somewhere, but when it did she turned her head to see almost the whole village up in flames.

(play 'Run This Town' by Jay Z feat. Rihannah and Kanye West)

"Put me _down_!" she screamed frantically squirming.

Sasuke didn't answer but tightened his grip on her. He was almost to the safety shelters at the Hokage faces.

"Let me _go_!" she yelled finally breaking out of his arms and tumbling onto the ground.

She rolled a few times then got on her feet and ran to the closest injured villager she saw. It was an old woman who was trapped under some burning debris. She used her superhuman strength to remove it then healed the woman's arm. Right when Sakura was about to tell the woman to get to the shelters she felt someone abruptly pull her backwards off her feet. She quickly spun around boring daggers into onyx eyes.

"Get to safety" he told her sternly.

"No!" she yelled back at him stomping her foot.

"Stop it Sakura. I don't need you in danger. You're important to me."

"And this village is important to _me_!" she snapped back at him.

Sasuke was taken aback by her response and knew that there was no stopping her. She was going to help as many villagers as she could, even if it killed her. Then he saw Naruto standing on the rooftop above looking down at them. After seeing Naruto, Sasuke suddenly got an idea.

"Fine" he told her, "but the dobe goes with you" he said pointing up at the rooftop next to them.

Naruto hopped down from the elevated location wearing his nighties mumbling "well this is one weird ass pajama party…"

Sasuke still had his pajama pants on with no shirt, Naruto was wearing an orange shirt and blue boxers, and Sakura was wearing a pink spaghetti strap nightgown.

"Cut the crap dobe. I need you to help me. Watch her" he said pointing to Sakura.

Naruto nodded then turned to face Sakura and said "let's do this."

(Play 'Strong and Strike' by Toshiro Masuda)

Sakura and Naruto took off running down the street at mach-ninja speed. They even ran along the sides of buildings when the streets were too crowded with fleeing villagers. They would ordinarily help, but it seemed that the chunins had it covered. They ran through burning buildings looking for stranded villagers. Sakura wasn't the only medic-nin doing this. Ino was out with Choji helping her as well. Eventually Naruto and Sakura come full circle through the village. It seemed that all the villagers who were alive were at the shelters. However, the two-tails still seemed quite amused with smashing the empty buildings. Naruto gritted his teeth. Even though he was a jinchuriki, he wasn't as powerful as a tailed beast itself. He knew that it was going to be sealed inside a kid. He wasn't dumb. You couldn't kill tailed beasts, you had to seal them. Naruto wondered who the unlucky soul was that was going to be forced to harbor a demonic aura alongside their own. Naruto was about to call it quits when he saw a blue light behind them coming from the Hokage tower.

(Play 'Hysteria' by Muse)

Sasuke saw the light and immediately made his way to the rooftop. He sat down behind a rolled out scroll with writing and made the hand sign of the tiger. No one said anything because they were concentrating completely on the unconscious boy in the middle of the circle. They then located where the two-tails was and began the sealing process. There was a large column of light that shot up to the night sky. The boy slowly levitated off the ground as the column turned red.

Naruto was running to the Hokage tower with Sakura behind him. He knew whatever that column of light was, it wasn't good, especially when it turned red.

Sasuke and everyone else began chanting a sealing mantra and the two-tail's aura began to spiral inside the column slowly making its way inside the boy's body. Naruto landed on the rooftop with Sakura right when the two-tails disintegrated and the last of its demonic aura found its way to the boy. When all the demonic aura was inside there was an upward gust of wind as the mantra continued and the writing on the scrolls left the pages and started circling around the boy.

"Now!" Tsunade barked.

The mantras stopped and you could see the chakra emitting from them as the words in the air spun faster. The written words melded together into a black line and circled around the boy's stomach forming perpendicular figure eights. Then there was a zig-zag circle around the figure eights. The boy was set down and the upward gust of wind ceased. Sakura had her hands clasped at the hem of her night gown to keep it from flying up when the wind started. When the boy was back down on the ground all the people in the circle were panting with swear dripping down their faces, including Sasuke. Naruto gritted his teeth at Tsunade as she walked up next to him to look out over the burning village. The anbus were already putting out the fires, and the jounins were escorting the people out of the safety shelters.

"How _could_ you?..." Naruto hissed behind his barred teeth.

"Everything I do is to protect the village Naruto" she said in a sorrowful tone, "it was either seal the two0tails inside this boy or watch the whole village be destroyed. I had to make a choice Naruto. I swore to protect this village, and everyone in it. I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. This decision wasn't easy. Especially when I thought of you…"

Naruto for once didn't talk back, he just hopped down off the roof of the Hokage tower and went to go help put out the fires. Sakura still stood there facing Sasuke dumbfounded. She really didn't know what was going on. All she knew was that it didn't feel right.

"Sakura…" Sasuke whispered in a tone that almost sounded guilty.

Sakura just turned her back to him looking out over the village. The two-tails had destroyed countless lives, but she felt more sorry for the boy. She didn't personally loose anyone close to her that she knew of, but she knew plenty of other villagers had and they were going to hold it against this boy. She desperately wanted to help him but she didn't know how. The only person who could understand to new jinchuriki was Naruto. The poor boy didn't even and wouldn't even have a clue why people were suddenly ignoring and shunning him. Though the damage wasn't as bad as when the nine-tails had ripped through the village, it was still rather devastating.

"Sakura look at me" he said from behind her.

She turned around to face him with tears pouring down her face. She didn't even know that she was crying because she was so out of it. She just couldn't believe what had happened that night. Right when Sasuke reached out to hug her the sun started to show over the horizon. It was morning and the whole village was sleep deprived.

"How could you just seal something so terrible inside a boy without thinking things through?..." she blubbered in his arms.

Sasuke grimaced at her words. She didn't even know that the boy was also his student. At that moment, Sasuke felt like a traitor. He felt like he'd betrayed his student _and_ his friends. He felt like he'd hurt Sakura somehow. She couldn't just be crying from the trauma of seeing the village in ruins.

"I didn't have a choice…" he told her, "take it up with Tsunade. She's the one who made the decision."

"But why?..." she whimpered.

"I don't know why either…" he told her resting his chin on top of her head.

It was as if no one could ruin the bittersweet moment, but someone was about to. Kakashi didn't want to interrupt his two former students, especially since he didn't ever see Sasuke's caring side. It was more entertaining than his pervy books. It captured the emotional essence you couldn't write into a book. He felt bad about what he was about to do, but it was on Tsunade's orders, so he didn't have much of a choice.

"Ahem" he cleared his throat loudly causing the two to look at him.

Everyone else had left the rooftop to go assist the other shinobi trying to salvage what was left of the village from burning to the ground, except for Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi. It then dawned on Sasuke that he was obviously supposed to be doing something.

"What is it?" he asked in his regular emotionless tone of voice.

Kakashi took a relaxed stance then said "Tsunade told me to bring you to her office."

Sasuke nodded then turned his attention back to the pinkette and told her to go get dressed in regular cloths, and since the danger was gone he reluctantly agreed to let her go help the other medic-nins with healing the injured. After she hopped off the rooftop running towards the compound he turned to face his former sensei and followed him down a staircase from the roof to Tsunade's office.

"Have a seat" she told him still looking out of the large window behind her desk peering out of the partially desecrated village.

"Or not…" she added when she turned around and saw him still standing in front of her desk.

She also saw Kakashi standing in the doorway. She just didn't bother to say anything because she mainly wanted to talk to Sasuke. It didn't matter if Kakashi heard it too. She turned her attention back to Sasuke.

"You want me to cut to the chase don't you?" she asked, and when she got no reply she sighed then said, "It has come to my attention that the boy is your student from your genin squad you've been assigned to train."

"What of it?" he asked back rather quickly.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes then vehemently hissed "you can't tell him about the two-tails being sealed inside him."

"Why the hell not?" Sasuke asked scowling right back.

Tsunade pinched the skin in between her eyes looking back out her window then saying "I've taken into consideration that it might not be the best course of action, but it's safer than telling him and putting him in an over emotional state. He's young enough where he might actually consider that he's become the two-tails and blame himself for all this destruction and chaos. I don't want that to happen. When he's older we'll life the new mandate stating that no one can tell him. Naruto found out later on as well when he was slightly older."

"Naruto learned about it before he became a full fledged ninja" Sasuke snapped back.

"Let things blow over a bit, then we can tell him."

"No"

Tsunade further narrowed her eyes in anger at the stubborn Uchiha. She didn't want to create a giant catastrophe from the boy finding out too soon for his own good. She just wanted all this grief for the loss of lives and then the ruining of the village to pass over and become less pronounced before she told him. However it seemed Sasuke was dead set on telling his student the second he was able.

"Let me tell him granny…" she heard someone call from one of the side windows. It was open and Naruto was sitting with his back to them on the awning right by the window (where Naruto found Kakashi in the 1st or 2nd episode when he gave him that new book).

Tsunade didn't even notice he was there before. He really was exceeding normal ninja skills.

"Why?" she asked curious, but already knowing the answer.

Naruto slowly stood up then turned around to face her through the open window and said "because I'm the only one who can possibly understand what he's feeling… or at least what he will be feeling. I can stand up for him. If I vouch for him, maybe he won't have as hard a time as I did."

Tsunade let a small smile grace her lips before she said "then do just that."

Naruto gave her a smirk and said "I wouldn't do anything less granny" then jumped off the awning headed towards the hospital where the boy was being treated.

* * *

_**To Be Continued…

* * *

**_

Hey guys! I'm sorry it's been a while. I've been spiratically updating. I hope you don't mind. I'm failing two of my classes… so yea… that's why I haven't really been up to par on all my stories and just randomly uploading. I've been trying to write every spare moment I get weather I save it as a draft on my e-mail on my phone on the go, or in a spiral notebook. I really hope you all continue to read this story! Thanks!


	10. Starting  All Over Again

Hrey! sorry guys! I've just been so busy with school! The only reason I've gotten time to write another fanfic chapter for this story is because of that ginormous snow storm! I've been snowed in almost the whole week! we havent had school so I've been able to write this! enjoy!

DON'T FORGET TO R&R! ^(^0^)^

* * *

Naruto burst into the hospital lobby making a spectical of himself. He was frantically talking to the front desk clerk asking about a small boy being treated. The hospital was in shambles from the unexpected attack, so all the patients were in one large treatment room in the basement shelter. The nurse tending the front desk led him there. When Naruto saw all the hundreds of people laying on strechers his heart sank. He never liked seeing the after math of fighting because it was never pretty. After running up and down the aisles of people he came to the clip-board that had the name "Takashi" written on it, but no one was in the bed. It just had ruffled sheets from where someone _was_. Naruto scratched the back of his head then wondered to himself where he would've gone after leaving the hospital. He thought for a few moments before he ran over the rooftops towards the training fields. He was certain that that's where he would go after leaving from the restraints of the hospital (besides Ichiraku Ramen of course). As he arrived at the training fields he was used to, he saw nothing. It was almost dead silent, except for a smacking sound in the distance with yelling in the background. Naruto wasn't sure if it was Takashi, but he wouldn't leave until he found out. When he went into the forest behind the training grounds he almost winced at what he saw. Tears were streaming down Takashi's face as his badly-bloodied fists kept pounding into the bark of a tree. The blood was tickling down in the trails of the bark. Naruto almost felt compelled to turn around and leave the boy be, but he knew that his newly found wounds needed to be treated immediately, and the boy was sure to do nothing about them if he were left alone.

"Enough already!" Naruto growled.

Takashi leapt in shock and turned towards Naruto stuttering, "W-wha-what are _you_ d-doing here?"

"Making sure you don't kill yourself" Naruto growled while gritting his teeth, "But it seems I was almost a little too late..."

Takashi continued to sport a dumbfounded expression as he stood stalk still in front of Naruto.

"We need to talk, squirt" Naruto said softly as he ruffled the boy's hair, it was almost as spikey as his own.

"Takashi nodded as his wiped his tears away and followed Naruto back towards the hospital. It was almost dinner time and Naruto planned on breaking the news to him while he treated him to ramen at Ichiraku.

The two walked into the hospital as a nurse rushed up to them and examined Takashi's hand wounds.

"Back again huh?" she chided as she ushered him to a treatment booth that had medications and bandages.

After a few moments of waiting the nurse finished treating his hands she repremanded him on rashly acting out and abusing his body to a bloody pulp. She advised him to find a punching bag next time to avoid further injury. Naruto led the boy down the sidewalk towards Ichiraku Ramen. He was counting down the seconds until this boy had a nasty reality check. Naruto was already sweating so badly that he wiped his brow to keep the salty liquid from falling into his eyes. When they arrived at the stand they took a seat next to each other and ordered their food. Naruto decided to break the ice betweeen them so he could more easily tell the boy about his misfortunes.

"So why were you so frustrated that you decided to start pounding a tree?" Naruto asked curiously as he nodded at the old man running the stand which meant 'the usual'.

"Because no one will look at me" the boy growled while clenching the countertop, "They don't speak to me, they don't respect me... hell they treat me like I don't exist!"

Naruto felt his heart wrench as his own painful past memories came floating back to the surface. All the times the villagers drove himout of their stores, kicked him, made fun of him, ifnored him, tricked him, spat in his direction and all other cruel things humans were capeable of.

"I haven't even seen any of my friends or family yet, but I'm sure they'll act the same as everyone else."

Naruto huffed sadly before he said, "I don't know about your friends, but I was informed that your family is, in fact, dead..."

the boy's eyes widenned in shock, but before he could ask any questions Naruto continued, "That's not all... the beast that attacked this village and killed your family and many others... is sealed inside _you_..."

The boy got up and turned to run away and leave the stand but Naruto grabbed his arm and barked at him, "_Don't_ run away... do you _honestly_ think that will change _anything_?"

Takashi turned to Naruto with blurry eyes and yelled, "I can't change what people think of me!"

"Not with _that_ attitude!"

"How would _you_ know?"

"Because we're the _same_!"

The boy's eyes widdened in shock as Naruto explained, "I have a beast sealed inside of me as well, the Kyuubi. It did far more damage than the two-tails did last night! But I still managed to gain everyone's respect and make a hero of myself!"

The boy stared in shock at what Naruto said, he knew Naruto was well respected, but he didn't know that Naruto had a bijuu just like _him_.

"So don't tell me that I don't understand" Naruto finished.

The boy went limp and Naruto let go of him trusting that he wouldn't run away.

Naruto decided to leave the boy with one last piece of advice, "If you run away from your problems, they'll never end. They'll always find you."

* * *

Sakura quietly slipped out of bed and avoided Sasuke's sleeping form next to her. She untangled herself from him and quickly slipped out of her pajamas and into her daily attire. She briskly brushed her lushous pink hair, then put her shoes on by the door and left. She had no intention of coming back to the Uchiha compound anytime soon, at least not for today and possiby that night.

After Sakura had closed the door behind her Sasuke sat up in bed. He was awake since the moment she squirmed, but he didn't let her know that since it was obvious she wanted to get out of the house and _away_ from him. Sometimes he wished that he could just keep her chained and on a leash so that he could always have her near by, but for the time being that obviously wasn't an option. He slowly dragged himself out of bed and twisted his body so his feet slid onto the floor. Since no one was hom he just stripped down to nothing and went to go take a shower. He put his hands on the front wall of the shower as the hot water seared his skin turning it red. Not knowing what to do was one of the worst feelings, and Sasuke had been getting alot of it lately. He wasn't sure what would come next. All he knew right now was that he was going to need Naruto's help, no matter what tactic he used to deal with his new Jinchuriki student.

Eventually Sasuke turned the water off and grabbed a towel off a rack in the bathroom and dried himself off then wrapped it around his waist. He walked intot he kitchen and made himself a cup of coffee. It was too hot to drink, so he set it on the counter so it would cool-off while he went into his room to get dressed. After he'd clothed himself in a black t-shirt and pants with his green jounin vest, he found his file folder on the island in the kitchen. He took and and brought it over to the kitchen table to examine its contents. It was the file from his most recent mission that he had to organize, it was for his new team of genins.

Not even knowing where to start, he grumbled and ran a frustrated hand through his raven hair mumbling, "Now I know why Kakashi sensei put this off..."

The team dossie (dah-see-ae is how you say it caz i don't think i spelled it right) took alot of thought and organization. It was going to be on permanent record. He filed the picture they'd taken, filled in all the blank boxes on each sheet of paper for the genins that had personal information and all sorts of records attached. Sasuke of course, already had a dossie for team 7 in the hokage office, so he didn't need to make another one for himself, he just had to fill in a few other things for an instructor form and accountability agreements.

* * *

Sakura went to a local brunch resturaunt that had tables on a small balcony overlooking one of the many busy streets of Konoha. She was supposed to meet Ino there for breakfast. On her way out this morning she'd recieved a message on her home phone asking for her to meet Ino. The fact that it was so short notice was no surprise. The blond did everything on impulse. Sakura was much obliged to meet her though, she felt like being alone was the last thing she wanted right now. When Sakura said that she needed a table for two, it just so happened that her friend was already there and waiting for her, a first that almost had Sakura questioning if it was in fact, Ino. She slowly strided over to the table with the distant looking blond and sat down across from her at the little two person table next to the street. Ino knew her friend was sitting across from her, but couldn't find it in herself to look at Sakura.

"Ino look at me" Sakura pleaded softly.

Ino was finally able to look at Sakura and could see the concerned expression on the pinkette's face. She didn't know quite how to explain the past events that led her to be so desperate as to arrange a meeting formally with Sakura _and_ show up on time. She was so lost and confrused.l All she needed at the moment was a little support and encouragement, but she wasn't even sure what for.

"Sakura?" Ino asked quietly then took a sip of her water in front of her.

"Yes?" Sakura responded in hopes of Ino finally speaking to her.

But then a waiter came over and greeted them, "Good morning ladies what can I get for you today?" Sakura waved her hand and said "I had breakfast already so I'll just have a glass of orange juice."

Ino skimmed over the menu then told him, "I'll have the french toast combo and I'd like my eggs over medium."

The waiter nodded, took the menus then walked away. Ino sighed, taking yet another sip of water, and looked out over the street.

Sakura was starting to become impatient as she asked Ino again, "What's wrong?"

Ino shook her head then said, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me" Sakura said defiantly crossing her arms and scowling.

Ino shrugged then said, "Shikamaru asked me to marry him."

Sakura coughed for a second and the water shot out of her mouth and onto the place setting, "What?" she yelled.

Ino scowled at Sakura's outburst then chided her, "I warned you..."

Sakrua just sighed then wiped the water off her plate and cloths as well as the table cloth and hoped that no one noticed, but they did. She looked up at Ino who wasn't even making an obscene comment about Sakura's reaction and spewing of water all over the place. Sakura knew for sure that Ino wanted this, but the the fact that she'd have to have someone tell her... it was very unlike her. Ino always disregarded what everyone else had to say about anything, so the fact that she wanted Sakura to tell her what to do had Sakura's mind running in circles.

"W-well..." Sakura stuttered from shock, "What did you tell him."

Ino sighed and looked out at the street and rested her chin on the back of her hand as she said, "At first I didn't believe him, but then when I tried to walk away the second I turned my back he told me he was serious."

"And?" Sakura urged her friend to continue.

"And... I told him I'd think about it."

Sakura facepalmed herself then asked, "Why on _earth_ did you do _that_?"

Ino shrugged and replied, "I just didn't know what to answer. Instead of rejecting him and then later on realizing I was wrong, I want to decide for myself on my own time."

"So you're going to start gazing at clouds and do nothing but think like that lazy genious?" Sakura asked sarcastically.

Sakura was surprised at Ino's rather serious response, "Maybe."

Sakura just rolled her eyes then said, "Do what you want.. but don't leave him hanging. He's lazy, not patient, don't confuse the two."

Right after Sakura had finished telling Ino her wise piece of advice, she saw Sasuke walking down the street by the outdoor sitting area of the brunch place. She quietly slid lower in her seat and patly covered herself with the table cloth.

Ino noticed the raven haired man walk by and wasn't stupid so she asked Sakura, "Care to share?"

Sakura just shook her head and told her friend, "It's another story for another day" then got up and left a tip for the waitor and a some money for her drink and left.

* * *

Sasuke was busy organizing all the papers for the team documents. Once he'd put them all together he put on his sandals then headed out to the door to the Hokage's office. He had to turn the team papers in, file the report for his last mission, and then go to the field to meet his genins for training. He put one foot after the other as his thoughts drifted to whereever sakura could be. She was gone early this morning. He could've stopped her, but he didn't. Why? Deciding it was the best thing to do, he didn't stop her because it would've just stirred up more drama, that he deemed 'unneccesary' for the time being. As he walked down the street he caught a glimps of pink. He looked out of the corner of his eye to see Sakura sitting at a table with her friend, Ino. He wanted to say something, but when he noticed her starting to slouch in he chair and partly hide under the table cloth, he knew she still didn't want to talk to him, so he just kept walking. When he got to the Hokage's office he set the files in a tray ont he Hokage's desk that was currently vacant. He didn't really care if Tsunade was there. It was just one less person to slow him down in getting everything he needed done. Undoubtidly she would have something to say to him or ask him about the genin squad he was asigned.

"In a hurry?" Someone asked as he was walking away down the hall.

Sasuke turned around slightly surprised that she might've very well been in there.

"I was in a meeting" she informed him, "Do you have time to talk?" she asked.

Sasuke shook his head and told her, "No, unless it's urgent. I have a squad of genins waiting for me that i'm already half and hour late for."

Tsunaded nodded then said, "Wheny you have a minute, come back."

"Aa" was Sasuke's only reponse as he continued walking down the hall and out of the Hokage tower.

Once Sasuke was outside of the building he headed down towards the training fields knowing that his squad was going to give it to him. But to Sasuke's surprsie, they were all already training... with Naruto? Sasuke watched them as they all took tried as trying to hit Naruto sepereately and at the same time, all sparing and trying to get him. Of course, Naruto didn't even give them one opening to attack him. He would normally leave a few tight openings, but he was having to much fun watching them try.

Sasuke just shook his head then asked, "Are you helping today? Or are you just going to get in my way?"

Naruto scrated the back of his head with a sheepish smile then turned around to the genins and whispered, "Remember not to piss him off. It's his time of the month right now."

The genins all burst out in laughter as Naruto walked past Sasuke and said, "He's not himself, watch out" and then walked away towards the village.

Sasuke knew that Naruto had been with Takashi, but he didn't expect Naruto to watch over _all _three genins for him while he was running late. Sasuke imediately ended their childish games and set Takashi and Akio against each other to spar then took Megumi to the side to talk to her.

"You don't seem like the violent type" he teased her in a flat tone of voice with a smirk.

Megumi half smiled then said, "I don't like hurting people."

Sasuke slightly frowned then told her, "Sometimes you're goint to have to hurt people, it's a cruel reality when you think about. You have to hurt someone else's loved ones to protect your own loved ones."

"So what am I supposed to do?" she asked quitely looking at her feet, alot like Hinata's own habbit.

"Does becoming a medic-nin interest you?" he asked curiously.

The girl's head shot up and she asked "I can really do that as a genin?" with a volume Sasuke didn't know she had in her.

"Yes" he told her, "You can."

"How?"

"You still have to learn how to attack people, because the chunin exam won't pass you for healing, but it's a useful skill to have to your comrades."

"How?" she repeated vibrating in place.

"Go to the hospital and ask for Sakura. Tell her that your Sasuke's student and want to learn how to heal. I'm sure she'll teach you."

The girl was already running before she could say her thanks. Sasuke had never seen her so hyper before. Right when he could sense the smile on her face as she ran off, he knew he'd done the right thing.

* * *

_**To Be Continued...**_


	11. A Second Chance

Disclaimer:

I DO NOT own Naruto.

Hey guys! I'm sorry that it's taken like a month to update! I've been finding out that if I take my netbook to school that I'm able to sneak in a few paragraphs here and there, especially at lunch. I figured out that my school doesn't have a problem with laptops, just cell phones, so I might be able to update more often. However, I still have my online math class to worry about… all I know is that I'm going to have lots of time over the summer because my oldest half-brother might fly out from California to watch my brother graduate from high school, so we wouldn't be going out of town. My parents talked about going to the beach for a week, but I'd have to have internet for my online classes. This is so not fun. I'm going to do everything I can next semester Jr. year to be able to pass. I heard from my councilor that you can get a math credit for a math support class. Well I'm done boring you all with the details of my school life. I still have drama, still have problems, and I'm still using this as an escape (since it's 100% legal).

I also participated in my school's blood drive today… wow… I think I might donate again, but I feel extremely dizzy and I almost passed out during the donor process… and I keep spacing out and my friends are all completely making fun of me :3 Since I'm sitting here finishing this up at lunch. It's taken me several days the first paragraph above I wrote like a weeks ago, and this one I'm writing just now.

* * *

Megumi ran through the hospital doors out of breath. She didn't know what to do. It seemed like there had been an accident because all the medic-nins were shuffling around like chickens with their heads cut off. Then through the doors with blood splatted here and there on her cloths, a girl with pink hair and fiery green eyes started barking orders at the medics. She completely took charge of the situation and in less than five minutes all five patients were stabilized and the chaos was over.

"Are you okay Sakura-san?" and medic came over and asked the pinkette as she sat down on a near by bench to catch her breath.

"Hai, I'm fine" she replied panting.

Megumi's eyes widened. This was the woman she'd been looking for. This was the person Sasuke sent her to find. Megumi didn't know how to ask for Sakura to be her teacher. She didn't feel like it was appropriate since Sakura had just finished treating a trauma case and was out of breath. Megumi sat down in the lobby and silently watched Sakura as she guzzled down a bottle of water and caught her breath for a few minutes. When Sakura stood up to leave Megumi stood up and followed her to back where her office was, just right around the corner. Sakura sat down and spied the little girl looking at her and urged her to come in. Not a lot of people came to her office, she normally had to go to some treatment room to see them, so she welcomed the non-burdened company, or so she thought. Megumi silently sat down in the chair looking at her palms playing with her fingers.

"Is there something you need?" Sakura asked sweetly.

Megumi looked at her for a second, but when she saw that Sakura was looking right into her eyes she let out a small gasp and looked back down at her palms. Sakura smiled at how shy the girl was, but knew that she was a genin because of the emblem around her neck. At her age, she couldn't be anything else but a genin because of her shy tendencies and obvious inexperience.

Megumi finally looked up then stood up and bowed saying, "I'm Sasuke's student, please teach me about being a medic-nin!"

Sakura's eyes widened for a second at the sudden outburst, but she could tell that it was Sasuke's student. Sasuke said that there was a quiet girl who hardly said a thing who was extremely shy and didn't enjoy hurting people. The girl also had dark ebony hair with stunning cobalt blue eyes. She had a giant black ribbon in the back of her hair that matched the color or her tresses. She also had on black spandex shorts with a white belt that had a supply pouch and she had a kunai holster around her right thigh. She had a purple spandex shirt as well that left a slight mid-drift on her stomach. The girl also wore black, fingerless gloves. Sakura almost envied the flatness of the girls stomach, but noticed how earnest the girl was being. Sakura just couldn't refuse another student, but she knew that this training was hard, she would have to have the girl almost all the time for training.

"What's your name?" Sakura asked standing up to walk up next to the girl who was still bowing.

"Megumi" the girl replied.

Sakura put a hand under Megumi's chin then raised her face and made her stand up straight as she said, "Well, Megumi, you'll have to start calling me Sakura-shishou now."

The girl looked up and asked, "When do I start training?"

"Today" Sakura said as she led Megumi to the resource room.

When they stepped in Sakura began her first lecture to her new pupil, "This part may be boring to you, but knowledge in important. I'm going to pick out some medical books I want you to read. Sometimes you won't be able to use chakra to heal wounds. It might be poison, which requires a number of treatments. I still read several medical books, so I'm not above this principal either. That's why this is the most important and the first place to start."

Sakura picked out several books for the girl. She decided to start her off in chakra network books. They went through the human anatomy, as well as how to stop and start chakra flow. Megumi became engrossed in the books and finished one before the day was even over. She took the rest home as well as a piece of advice from Sakura on how to practice precise chakra control. She was teaching Megumi how to use the chakra scalpel, so she gave her a wooden box that had rubber-bands glued from top to bottom. Sakura told Megumi to practice slicing the rubber bands inside without scratching the wood on the outside. Megumi thought it was rather hard, but gave Sakura her word that'd she'd at least _try_ to do it.

* * *

After Sasuke had dismissed both Akio and Takashi, he too went home. He was tired and the sun had already set. He didn't know whether to expect dinner or not (due to Sakura's irregular work schedule). When he finally got up to the house he was half relieved and half worried. He saw Sakura was home, but she was in a silk night robe standing on the front porch leaning against one of the posts in the railing.

"You're going to catch a cold" he told her sternly.

"It's summer" she replied with a scowl.

Sasuke just narrowed his eyes knowing he didn't have any excuse now. He assumed that because she was outside waiting for him that it wasn't good whatever she wanted to talk about. He noticed how her fingers gently brushed her cheek bone to gather hair from her face to compact behind her ear.

Sakura took a deep breath then said, "I know Tsunade might've already talked to you, but I haven't had my say yet…"

Sasuke just gave her a weary look as he nodded his head and waited for her to continue to speak.

"Why on Earth did you seal the two-tails inside that boy? Why did you give up your rank as an anbu to be a jounin with genin students instead of asking for fewer missions? Why? _Why_?" Sakura said as she began to cry and stomp her foot like an agitated three-year-old.

Sasuke had the answer in his head, but he was rather certain that she wouldn't accept it as a valid answer, "Because I want to protect you, I wanted to stay with you, I want to make you happy."

Sakura's tears started to slow but she still continued to cry. Sasuke wasn't sure why she was upset all of a sudden, but he knew it was completely out of character for her to be upset over things that he'd already explained to her. All he could do was attempt to comfort her until she feel asleep.

* * *

Sakura woke up the next morning still feeling lousy. She found that Sasuke was gone, probably off to train with the Takashi and Akio, which left Megumi at the hospital waiting for medic training. Sakura was sure that'd she'd find the girl with her nose in a book for sure. The girl enjoyed the reading far more than Sakura did, which made Sakura think that training her would be all the more easy. The pinkette slipped fresh cloths on after taking a much needed shower and headed off to the hospital for her late morning shift, locking the door behind her. Sakura arrived at the hospital to be rather calm. All the patients were ill or slightly injured with a few broken bones or check-ups, nothing that required dire attention. She thought this would be a good day to get Megumi to practice on a few minor scrapes and bumps.

"How long have you been waiting here?" Sakura asked while using one finger to make Megumi put the book down.

The girl smiled up at Sakura and replied, "Not long."

Sakura showed the girl around the hospital more and then got her to take care of a few scrapes with healing chakra, then set her to work on smaller animals and other things to practice (like the fish in the show that was on the chakra scroll or something. Those sorts of things). Eventually Sakura left her alone in the library again to do some more work on other patients. She had to split her time evenly between her work and her new student. Sakura felt lightheaded while she was bandaging up one person's arm after healing the bone with her chakra. The man asked if she was ok and she replied that she was, but she had a bad feeling. When she got to the door way she heard a yell as she feel to the floor and everything went black.

* * *

Sasuke was out on the field with Takashi and Akio watching them spar. Takashi had already picked up the beginnings of the rasengan, but Sasuke put a quick end to its use. Akio wasn't much for justsu but he was more than satisfactory with his weaponry. It was almost as if he was related to Ten-Ten the way he inventively used kunai and shurikin. Sasuke was amazed with both of them. They each had a strength different from the other which allowed them to almost be even when they sparred. Sasuke eventually had them stop before they were completely out of breath and put them to work on chakra control. He used the same lesson as Kakashi, he had them climb trees without using their hands. Though Takashi was slow catching on to it, but Akio wasn't much faster. They were about even until Akio almost got to the top and Takashi had had it with being the last place looser and gave the next round his all and they both reached the top and the exact same moment. Though the two didn't much favor each other, Sasuke thought they'd make good rivals. They'd have a healthier rivalry than Sasuke and Naruto did. The two boys hopped down from the tree and Sasuke could see the sweat dripping from their faces. He decided to call it a day and told the boys to go home. It was sunset and he knew Sakura would be home by then. She was home early last night. The hospital seemed to understand that they couldn't completely exhaust her anymore if they wanted a top doctor on staff there. Sasuke was about to enter the Uchiha compound as he saw Naruto leaning against a tree waiting for him. He wasn't sure what it was about but Naruto's face was grim and rather upset. Sasuke knew Naruto had a piece of knowledge for him that wasn't bothersome, it must be important.

"Teme…" Naruto said somber with an undertone of malice, "Sakura passed out at the hospital, granny sent me to get you…"

Sasuke didn't know how to reply so he just nodded in confirmation as the two quietly trudged off towards the hospital.

* * *

Sakura awoke to find herself on an examination table and Tsunade's hands hovering over her, searching, looking for something. Sakura was mildly frightened, especially when she saw Megumi's watery eyes in the hallway. The girl probably had no clue what was going on and was frightened. Sakura didn't know herself. She just suddenly 'killed over' without so much as a warning. Tsunade saw the little girl peeking in from the hallway and smiled at her with a gesture to come in. Megumi slowly walked up, unsure of the situation.

"Sakura is fine, you know why?" Tsunade asked.

Tsunade was aware of Sakura teaching the girl to be a medic-nin, so she held out her hand for Megumi's. Tsunade scooted Megumi over to the examination table and placed her hand over Sakura and told her, "Don't heal, don't do anything, just sense, and tell Sakura why she's fine."

The girl was uncertain but mover her hand around sensing with her eyes closed, searching for something but didn't know what.

When she finally found it her eyes shot open and she yelled, "Sakura-sensei! You're going to have a _baby_!"

Sakura's eyes went wide, especially when she saw Naruto and Sasuke standing in the doorway. Sasuke walked in and up to the examination bed across from Tsunade. He didn't really have to say anything, but just looked at Sakura with a smirk. He wasn't very good at smiling and Sakura knew it, so she smiled for him. Naruto just moseyed in and looked at Sakura with disbelief. He had no clue that this would happen so soon. He didn't know if Sakura was completely over of losing her first unborn child yet. But now that she was pregnant, there was nothing left to do but wait and hope that this one would be different. Naruto gave Sakura a pat on the shoulder and a tender smile that almost said 'well done'.

* * *

Sakura and Sasuke arrived home, but neither said a word. Sakura didn't know what to make of Sasuke's silence. What was he doing? Why was he so quiet? What was the big idea of keeping her in the dark on what he was thinking? Sakura was just irritated and wanted to go to bed. When she climbed under the covers, she looked at the ceiling and drifted into thought.

"_Did he know all along?... Is that why he became a jounin? Was it to console me?... Or to pave the way for this new child?... He didn't seem at all shocked when Megumi yelled the news while standing in the doorway… but why so quiet?... Why won't he say a word to me?..."_

"You're thinking too much" Sasuke said as he slipped under the covers in his boxers.

Sakura was started and suddenly sat up and gave him a shocked face that quickly turned to a frown as she asked, "Why are you so invasive?"

"It was written all over your face. You're thinking too hard."

"Why shouldn't I be allowed to think?" Sakura asked with her nosed turned up and her arms crossed.

"_I have nine months of this…"_ Sasuke thought to himself as he harshly frowned in the dark to himself.

He could tolerate the regular Sakura just fine, but last time she was pregnant she was more than a handful. It was more than just annoying to him, but he figured that he could put up with it since there was a time limit on it. It's not like she was going to stay like that forever. The only thing he was concerned about was her not being able to work. She could easily work up until she's a solid two months pregnant, but after that Tsunade will have her doing nothing but sorting papers and then the occasional errand to run. Sasuke knew how much that drove Sakura insane. However, he did realize one thing that was going to be better for Sakura. He wasn't going to be gone this time. The last time she was pregnant he was quickly sent away on an anbu mission, but this is the whole reason why he demoted himself to a jounin. The only thing he had to worry about now is possibly being sent on some sort of low ranked escort mission with his genin squad, but if he were to do that he wouldn't be gone for more than a week. The mission he was sent on as an anbu the last time this happened didn't have a return date, just an estimate of two months. Sasuke was determined this time to stick around for Sakura. He even thought that maybe all the emotional stress, separation anxiety, and prohibition to work was what finally caused her to snap and possibly have a miscarriage. Sasuke decided to lay his mind at ease. When he looked over beside him he saw that Sakura was already in cold sleep. He hadn't expected her to fall asleep _that _fast with so much on her mind, but he guessed that's how tired women get when their next day Sakura woke up to find no warmth beside her, just ruffled sheets and a crooked pillow. She was so used to waking up this way already that it didn't faze her at all. She slipped out from under the sheets and went to go take a shower. When she wandered into the kitchen she found that Sasuke actually hadn't left. He was sitting at the kitchen table sorting papers and drinking coffee.

"Did I leave enough hot water for you?" He asked not looking up from his papers.

"Yes, you did" she replied confused by his presence in the early morning.

Sasuke knew she was confused because he was always gone by this time so he took the time to explain himself, "I gave the genins the day off today so they could rest. I also had some paper work I needed for file for several D-ranked missions."

Sakura just nodded in understanding then sat at the table. She found it uncomfortable to look at him, even when he was looking down completely at his papers. Sasuke knew that she was still touchy about the pregnancy, so he decided that if she couldn't talk about it with him, she needed to find someone else to spill it to. Whether or not he heard her didn't matter, he already knew how she felt. He just wanted her to get it all off her chest.

"Maybe you should go see Ino today" he suggested.

Sakura wasn't sure what she wanted, but a visit with Ino didn't sound like a half bad idea. Ino hardly ever called beforehand, so Sakura decided that after she did the dishes she could just go. She went over to the sink to start on the morning dishes but she was pleasantly surprised.

"I'll take care of it. Just go to Ino's" came the dry tone of the raven haired Sasuke

* * *

_**To Be Continued…**_I'm sososososososooo sorry it took a while to update! I really wish I had more time for this stuff but between school, the gym, and trying to relax and watch a few animes I find that I have less and less time for this stuff. I normally do it during lunch or even after school.

* * *

PLEASE REMEMBER TO R&R! ^(^0^)^ *WOOT FACE!*


	12. Time For Travel

**Disclaimer:** I DO NOT own Naruto.

Hey guys! I got bored this weekend and decided to update early! :)

It's really rare for me to update twice in one month so you guys are in for a real treat! You should be appresheative lol! and I know that I haven't responded to any reviews the last two chapters but I think it falsely takes up room in the amount of words the story has. I just kinda feel a tad like I'm cheating people… anyway! I do read all of them (I get an e-mail sent to my phone RIGHT after you post them!) and I enjoy every last comment I receive. Both compliments AND constructive criticism! So keep em' coming!

PLEASE REMEMBER TO R&R! ^(^0^)^

* * *

Sakura walked down the street towards her blond friend's house. She knew that Ino was now engaged to Shikamaru, so she hoped that she wouldn't be… interrupting anything… but she doubted it. It was the middle of the day, so everyone was out running errands. However, Sakura knew that Ino stayed at home. She was happy to hear that Shikamaru was fully recovered and going back on business. Tsunade had suggested to him that if he wanted to stay alive longer he should consider an occupation as a diplomat/spokes-person to other nations. Shikamaru had and still was considering the option, however, he felt like he would like to remain an anbu as long as he could. Sakura eventually found herself on Ino's doorstep and was about to ring the doorbell when the blond herself walked out. Ino was surprised to see Sakura but stepped out onto the front steps and locked the door behind her.

"I was actually about to go run some errands" Ino said as she made her way down the steps then looking over her shoulder she asked, "Wana come with me?"

Sakura shrugged then followed the blond to the market street where vendors were competing to sell their harvests. It was spring again, so the village was bustling with activity. Sakura found herself captivated by the plant life, especially the cherry blossom trees. It was her name-sake, so it did explain her fascination with them. She eventually stopped herself from being sucked in to thought and realized that she still had to tell Ino.

"Ino…" she muttered as they were headed back to the blond's house down a relatively empty street.

"What is it?" the girl asked as she turned around to face her friend.

"Ino…" Sakura mumbled again, "I'm pregnant…"

Ino's eyes went wide as she squealed and took Sakura's hands bouncing up and down then yelled, "ME _TOO_**!**"

This time it was Sakura's turn to be excited. Both the girls were bouncing up and down like they were in the academy again. Sakura couldn't help but reminisce in those days as she reflected upon the present.

"When are you due?" Sakura asked curiously.

"8 moths!" Ino chirped.

"No way! Me too!" Sakura shouted as both girls got even more excited, if that were even possible.

The two sat at Ino's house chatting. Sakura almost felt like spending the night, but she knew that Sasuke wouldn't hear of it. She decided that she'd push his buttons and come home as late as she could though. She'd basically spent the _whole_ day with Ino. She had the feeling that they would be doing this a lot. However, Sakura felt happiness surge through her as she realized something. Ino would have to stay in the village on maternity leave as well, so Sakura would know that she truly wouldn't be alone this time around like she was the first time. Ino eventually looked at the clock and saw that it was 11pm.

The blond scratch the side of her head with her index finger as she asked, "Are you sure Sasuke won't worry about you being out this late?"

"He's the one that told me to come spend the day with you, so it's his job to come get me."

"You're despicable" Ino laughed.

Sakura just laughed back at her as the two sat in each other's company sipping tea in silence. Eventually Shikamaru walked into the living room and both women smiled at him and welcomed him home.

"You living here now too?" Shikamaru joked.

"I'm thinking about it" Sakura replied jokingly.

"Well Sasuke seems to think you are. He's waiting for you outside" Shikamaru informed the pinkette.

Ino laughed then said, "You truly are evil to make him come get you like this."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes knowing just how conniving women can be. One moment they're playing koi and the next they're a pain in the ass. Sakura walked quietly outside giggled to herself.

"I hope you're happy…" came a grumbling noise from the bushes.

Sakura turned her head to see the raven haired man with a scowl on his face. She knew exactly what he was talking about so she didn't bother playing dumb, instead she didn't say anything and skipped down the street in front of him on the way home. Sasuke just huffed in an annoyed manner as he followed behind her. He didn't even bother asking why she was in such an irritatingly good mood. He'd take her skipping over her ranting any day. He just knew she was going to be frustrated when he told her that he had to take the genins on a two week escort mission. He was waiting until they were home because the last thing he wanted was to make a scene in the middle of the night in the middle of the road. Once they were both inside the house Sakura's happy-go-lucky personality faded into a neutral aura. She walked into the shower and Sasuke made himself a cup of coffee. It was another long night of paper work of the missions he's gone on. He also had to do a submission form for the two week trip, which he still hadn't told Sakura about. He stood up from the table he'd been comfortably sitting at and made his way over to the bathroom. He heard Sakura humming in the shower and stood facing her shadow figure scrubbing her hair while leaning against the counter.

"Is there something you need?" she asked while she was rinsing her hair.

Sasuke took a deep breath then said, "I need to tell you something."

"What?" she asked unemotionally.

"I have to go on a two week mission…" he said then looked away counting down the seconds until she 'exploded'.

The water turned off and Sakura pushed the curtain around her head that popped out as she narrowed her eyes and dangerously asked, "What?"

Sasuke scratched the back of his head while looking away from her as he repeated himself. Sakura stepped out of the shower with a towel rapped around her as she stood next to him facing the mirror. Sasuke's back was to the mirror and he could sense the tension and her eyes boring holes into the back of his head through the mirror.

"Why?" she asked frustrated.

"I have a D-ranked escort mission with the genins… I'm sorry but it's just like when we went to the land of waves. They all were getting tired of babysitting and yard work missions…"

Sakura sighed with slight relief hearing that it was D-ranked, and obviously posed no threat on his life. She was just sad that he'd be away for so long. Especially since the deal of him becoming a jounin was that he wouldn't be gone so long. Sasuke could feel the disappoint radiating off of her. He just sighed and walked out of the bathroom.

"I'm leaving tomorrow morning" he said before he left the bathroom completely.

Sakura sighed as she looked at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. She didn't want to cry, but she felt the dire urge to let something out. The good news was that she knew Tsunade had a top secret mission for both her and Ino that she was told only the two of them could pull off.

* * *

The next morning Sakura wasn't surprised to find the covers empty next to her. She clutched the fabric next to her just to make sure there wasn't any sign of warmth indicating he recently left. The fabric was as cool as a hard surfaced floor. Sakura slowly sat up and smelled something delicious. Sakura got up out of bed and went into the kitchen to find Ino cooking breakfast.

"Good morning bed-head" Ino snickered looking at Sakura's matted hair.

Sakura just looked at Ino's belly that was slightly starting the pudge up and let out a snicker of her own. Ino noticed the line of Sakura's vision and just scowled before defensively saying, "It's not like you don't have any either."

Sakura shrugged then asked, "So why are you here? And even cooking my breakfast?..."

Ino smiled then chirped, "To celebrate our first mission as pregnant women of course!"

Sakura just sweat dropped wondering how Ino had the ability to celebrate the strangest circumstances, especially ones that involved pregnancy and top secret missions. They were going to their briefing that afternoon. The two women sat at the table eating oatmeal, granola, yogurt, and bacon. They loaded up on every different food group before they left the house. When Sakura put the dishes in the sink she could feel the guilt of how much she'd eaten setting in, but she realized that this is just another formality of being pregnant. When they left to go to the Hokage's office it was right at noon. They were a few minutes early, but they knew that Tsunade didn't care. The two of them walked in not knowing what to expect from the amber eyed woman. She gestured at them to close the door before she began their mission briefing.

"I suppose you two are aware that I selected you for this mission because you're pregnant" Tsunade asked with a serious look on her face.

Sakura hated the seriousness on her expression, but both girls nodded at her before she continued, "The reason is because I need you to spy and gather intelligence, and there's no way anyone would suspect two pregnant 'widows' to be spies."

Ino gave Tsunade a confused expression as she asked, "We're supposed to be widows?"

Right after she said that Shikamaru walked into the room and Tsunade got a better idea, "No, just Sakura will be a widow. Shikamaru, you'll accompany Ino as if you were her husband. You are to gather intelligence. I'm counting on you to take most of the spying responsibility seeing that you are more… mobile than them."

Sakura and Ino twitched at Tsunade's comment about how big their bellies were going to be.

"What about Sasuke?" Shikamaru asked.

Tsunade scratched her head then said, "Sasuke's out on an escort mission with the genins he was assigned, so he won't be able to accompany you all. However, you'll just say he went M.I.A. and assume him dead… I have a feeling he'll track you down… and if he's supposed to be dead from some disease or something than it will completely blow your cover."

Sakura nodded with a crookedly nervous smile she wasn't excited in the slightest about this mission. She knew Sasuke would be furious at her for leaving the village and accepting such a mission. She was sure of it. However it was Hokage's orders, so it's not like she had much of a choice. The three anbus were dismissed from Tsunade's office and left to go pack. Tsunade estimated this mission at 7 months, over half a year. Sakura wasn't sure what she was going to do with herself if she was so far away from home for so long. She'd never been on such an extensive mission, but this was to build good relations with a village as well as sneakily collect intel on them for the village's personal gain. She knew the risks of it. If the villagers found out, or there was an S-ranked criminal hiding there like they suspected, then things could easily get ugly.

After taking their sweet time packing the team set out just a few hours before sundown towards a village on the outskirts of the fire nation. It was a solid day's journey and they wouldn't arrive till dinner the next day if they kept moving, which they knew they couldn't. After they'd gotten over halfway to their destination and it was almost sunrise. The team made camp and called it a night, or a day. They were too tired to tell the difference. Since they were close teammates they didn't have a problem sharing one tent, so it made packing light a lot easier. The next day they set out hopping through the tree branches once more. They arrived in the village just a few hours after sunset. They managed to get a room at the inn. The village didn't receive many visitors due to its nasty reputation, so they attracted several strange looks and lots of unwanted attention.

* * *

"Sasuke-sensei!" Megumi shouted pointing to the trees beside the merchant caravan.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed right where the girl was pointing. The two boys, Akio and Takashi, were up in the trees in a flash. Just a couple minutes late two bandits dropped dead out of the trees. Megumi had a semi-horrified look on her face, but she was glad that it wasn't Akio and Takashi that got thrown out of the tree right in front of her. Just moments later the two boys jumped down themselves. Akio just had a slight scrape on his cheek, but Takashi had buckle fracture his finger. Megumi rushed over in an instant to heal the boy, but Sasuke held out his arm to block her.

He had something he wanted to ask Takashi, "Did you use rasengan?"

Takashi sheepishly grinned with a nervous laugh which Sasuke virtually took as a yes.

"What did I say about rasengan?" Sasuke questioned with narrow eyes.

"That… it uses too much stamina?..."

"It's not safe" Sasuke corrected him, "You don't have the chakra control yet to fully understand what you're doing. I promise you that you'll eventually be able to do it, soon, but in the meantime you need to refrain from it."

Takashi looked guiltily at his hand as Megumi rushed over to heal it. She was used to Takashi injuring himself. She'd heal Takashi too, but he told her to save her chakra because the bleeding had already stopped. Megumi refused to completely leave him alone so she put some antibacterial paste on the wound to keep it from getting infected.

Eventually the caravan made camp, including the escorts. Sasuke set his own tent, Akio and Takashi shared a tent, and Megumi had her own. Akio was digging a small fire pit in the middle of the tree tents when suddenly he felt gravity pulling him sideways. Megumi heard the thud and came out of her tent horrified. She screamed as she saw Akio foaming at the mouth incapacitated. Sasuke heard both the thud and the scream and looked out of his tent and suddenly frowned. Takashi was down by the river so he didn't know what was happening.

"He's been poisoned!" Megumi shrieked, "I need you to get me a sterilized sharpened tool, fresh water, and pot to boil it. I'll go gather herbs, get Takashi to watch him! Quickly!"

Sasuke shot into the trees while Megumi ran off into the woods to gather her assortment of herbs. The time was ticking and Megumi was familiar with the poisoning. Sakura had told her about it. It was an amateur poison used by the common bandit or crappy ninja, but if it wasn't treated after the first symptoms then it was only a few hours until death. Akio had probably refused to tell her about it the moment he started feeling dizzy, which was the first symptom, so she was sure that he probably had one hour tops. She was frantically searching and gathering herbs into a leather pouch which she ran back to the camp to find Takashi and Sasuke with all her supplies. She put the water on to boil and placed a cold, wet cloth on Akio's head. She then sent Sasuke to get her a bowl and pestle. She had to grind up the herb into a paste. While Sasuke was getting the last supplies she boiled the water and made a small, but deep incision in Akio's right oblique. Before she continued any further she took the ribbon out of her hair and used it to tie her hair into a bun. She quickly took the water and sent it inside of his body through the incision. She prayed to kami that her chakra control would allow her to do what she needed to. She had to draw the poison out of his tissues and into the water. She could feel the water being polluted with the disgusting toxin. When she felt that she had 90% of what was plaguing his system, she pulled the water out. She healed the incision knowing that Akio's life had been extended enough for her to make the antidote and double check its properties to make sure it would work. Megumi took the polluted water and put it into a separate empty dish. She took an extract from the dish and put it in a tube. She then took the grind and pestle from Sasuke to grind up an assortment of herbs. She tried three different pastes and the first two didn't do anything. Just when she started to lose hope the third one completely dispersed the poison and rendered it benign. She was beside herself and quickly made several vials of the medicine. She estimated that he would need a weeks-worth to take twice a day. Sasuke simply sat across the fire pit from her utterly impressed. She was better than Sakura as a genin medic-nin. The girl had potential and Sasuke was absolutely sure that he had done the right thing by having her apprentice under Sakura. Eventually she could tell Akio was becoming conscious again a few hours after the first dose of her antidote she gave him. Akio was in such a haze that he couldn't see Megumi crying over him with tears of joy. Takashi just gave Megumi a hug and a 'job well done'. Sasuke nodded his approval and Akio groaned with a mix of pain and appreciation (though he didn't know that he'd been on the brink of death). Megumi immediately got him water to drink and had him slowly sit up. Akio groaned and grabbed his side realizing there was a major incision.

"What the hell?..." he muttered as the haze started to clear.

"Megumi saved your life" Sasuke stated blankly at the boy who obviously had no understanding of the situation.

Akio looked over to Megumi who was still dripping tears of joy. She was obviously worried. Akio just pulled her over to him despite the pain in his side and held her in his arms as she wept her tears of relief onto the bandages she'd dressed him in. Sasuke smiled at the genins before him. They were nothing like his old group. These genins were even more of a family. They spurred each other on, and at the same time they looked out for each other's safety and loved each other. Especially Takashi, this squad was the closest thing he had to a family.

After the exciting night's events the team went to bed hoping to hit the road early tomorrow. Sasuke wanted to get this mission over with and get back to Sakura as early as he could.

* * *

"You really think he's going to be _that_ mad?" Ino asked as she set her bags down on the bed next to Sakura's.

Sakura fiddled with her hair not knowing a good answer for Ino. She was sure that he would be frustrated, but she wasn't sure what his reaction would be exactly. All she knew was that he would eventually wind up here, even if the Hokage told him not to come. Sakura was sure that Tsunade thought of that so she created the M.I.A. cover-up story. Sakura threw herself onto her bed flopped on her back staring at the ceiling. She eventually curled up sideways and went to bed wondering what adventures tomorrow would bring, as well as wondering what Sasuke was up to. Even though he was on an escort mission, she was sure that he was safe.

* * *

**_To Be Continued..._**I love you all to death and hope that you enjoyed reading this. I think I'm going to work a little bit more on this instead of my other one "Love Like This" because I have such a HUGE plot line for this story it's not even funny… like seriously… by the time I'd finish this I'll probably have over 400,000 words… LONG LONG LOOOOONG story. I see so much potential in this… anyway! I'd love if you could leave a comment. I know that the genins are made-up and unimportant, but I just thought that this chapter needed some suspense and action, so PLEASE tell me what you think! I read your reviews right after you send them throughout the day! So don't be shy!


	13. They Took Her

**Disclaimer:** I DO NOT own Naruto.

Hey guys! I'm glad to get constant reviews and right after I upload them too! I hope that you guys aren't too mad at me for taking my time :3 I did update sooner than I usually do, but I can't help but feel that I always take my sweet time...

I'm on spring break this week, so I might update by the end of the week, but i'm not entirely sure. I have a few things to work on like some under sraps stories, I have to work on my online math, and I also might be spending lots of time with friends. I only got to hang out with my oober smart and sweet korean friend this past friday. And by "sweet" I don't mean "I really really like him" He's just sweet to me because he always cares about how I feel. He doesnt' like me that way either, I'm sure. He's just a really good friend to me. He was really tired and only got one night of sleep the night before he hung with me, but he still spent a few hours with me before he went home because I said that I probably wouldn't be hanging with anyone over spring break and I'd be bored the whole break. I never said "lonely" or "alone" but he completely picked up on it, which kinda surprised me. Guys don't normally pick up on that stuff, but that's all the mroe reason why he's a good friend of mine.

Anyway... PLEASE REMEMBER TO READ AND REVIEW! ^(^0^)^ *WOOT FACE!*

* * *

Sakura woke up one chilly winter morning. It had been a week and a half and she could swear that she was starting to see stretch marks on the side of her stomach. She groaned in detestment of the ugly streaks as she got up to go to the rest room. She was still on her mission with Shikamaru and Ino in the village. She hadn't heard word from the village at all, but they were finding out new intelligence every single day. She was swelling with pride at the team's progress, but she was hollow inside from Sasuke's absence. She was growing weary every day. She wrapped herself in her simple pink robe. She felt ashamed of herself after looking out her cottage window. The village was rustic and bereft of any modern technology. The people were all peasants and earning a meager living by means of manual labor, while she was kicking it up in comfort with a two bedroom cottage and unblemished clothing and running water. She'd never felt more out of place in her life. Some of the houses had running water, but it was still a rather feudal society, nothing like the leaf village. She sipped her tea while sitting on the window seat. They lived separate from everyone else on a hill overlooking the village. Shikamaru didn't want to rub their accommodations in everyone's faces, he was a kinder man than that, and if he were to gather intelligence from the villagers it wouldn't serve him any good to be perceived as a rich snob.

Sasuke wasn't faring much better. He and the genins had successfully escorted the caravan of merchants, but Akio was still out of it from the poisoning. He would need another few days before he became completely better. Sasuke wasn't so much concerned with his underling as he was with Sakura. He was convinced that she must be heartbreakingly lonely at home. He was in for a shock, that's for sure. He still didn't have a clue that Sakura was sent on an S-rank intelligence gathering mission. He thought that she was on leave for pregnancy at home. When Sasuke arrived back at the desolate compound, he _knew_ something wasn't right. When he walked into the compound everything was neat and tidy. The bed was made, all the dishes were clean, books and papers were sorted and stacked. It was too clean for someone to be occupying it. Sasuke got a bad feeling in his gut as he opened the dresser doors of the closet. Sakura's cloths were gone. Panic suddenly throbbed through his system. He could've sworn that his heart was directly under his throat, a feeling he'd much rather do without. He didn't even bother changing cloths, or doing anything else. He rushed to the Hokage's office. He needed to file a missing person's report. As childish as it was, he knew that plenty of people would be after an Uchiha child. The ocular justsu was infamous. He was worried – no – that was an understatement; he was petrified. He never felt like this since the massacre of his clan. He wouldn't lose the other two people he loved…

* * *

Sakura was leaving the cottage with Ino to go down to the market to do their daily grocery shopping. Shikamaru was out working with the villagers in order to gain more trust to gain more information from them. Sakura felt a little better in the company of her friend. Even though she didn't have Sasuke, she at least had _someone_.

"Let's get these" Ino asked interested pointing to some bananas.

Sakura shrugged then said, "We also need green onions, miso, seaweed, and some bean-curd (tofu)."

"I _hate_ tofu!" Ino shrieked.

Sakura rolled her eyes before grumbling, "Then I'll make you a bowl without it…"

The girls chatted with some villagers as they roamed around the market. Once Sakura got all the food they were about to leave when an old lady tapped Sakura on the shoulder.

"There's someone new in the village, are they with you as well?" Sakura gave the woman a funny look then asked, "Does the man of spikey black hair?"

"Yes, he does" she replied.

Sakura smiled then told the old lady, "Will you do me a favor and tell him where I am? I have to go take these back to the house."

The old woman nodded then waved, smiling as she walked off. Sakura felt nice and warm at the prospect of Sasuke coming into the picture with them. She'd finally have someone to share a bed with again, to keep her warm at night.

* * *

Sasuke barged into the Hokage's office standing in the door way before grunting, "Where's Sakura?"

"I beg your pardon?" Tsunade asked with her elbows on the table and her hands supporting her chin with a ravenous glare on her face almost equal to the Uchiha's.

"Where. Is. Sakura?" he asked again in a dangerous tone.

" She's at a village on the outskirts of the fire nation. I sent a squad there consisting of the two pregnant women, Sakura and Ino, as well as Shikamaru. They're on an intelligence gathering mission."

Tsunade handed him a file folder of all the information as well as the intelligence already gathered and sent back by messenger hawk. They were searching for members of Akatsuki as well as the group's whereabouts. Mostly because they _would_ use a rundown town as a hide-out, somewhere rural and unnoticeable. It gave Sasuke an uncontrollable feeling of panic at the rank of the mission. Sakura had no business doing that in her current condition. Sasuke knew that he was supposed to be a man returning from war so as not to blow their cover, but he couldn't help but feel like things were already blown out of the water.

* * *

Sakura was chopping the green onions for the miso soup when she heard a soft knock at the door. She put the knife down and wiped her hands on her pants as she walked over to the door. When she opened it she saw the same old lady as before. She smiled and welcomed her, but the lady didn't accept her invitation to come inside.

"Thank you, but I just came to deliver a message.'

"What?" Sakura asked with an incredibly puzzled face.

The old lady shrugged before she said, "He wanted to discuss some private matters with you. He told me to come bring you to him."

Sakura rolled her eyes. It was very typical for him to make _her_ come to **him** instead of the other way around. She told the lady to wait a minute. Sakura went in to announce that she was going out because she forgot something at the market. Ino offered to go with her, but Sakura shook her head and told the blond to finish making the dinner. Ino was a capable enough cook to make some soup. Sakura went down the mountain trail towards the village with the old lady. There was a knot forming in her stomach at the idea of Sasuke's face. She hadn't seen it in so long. She actually caught herself blushing before they entered the little hut of a building that would serve as their meeting place. Although it wasn't strange to make her come to him, why would he if he hadn't seen her in so long? Wouldn't he want to surprise her and not make it secretive? Did he _want_ to blow their cover? When Sakura walked in however she was unpleasantly surprised. There was a man in an orange mask. He looked to have the same spikey locks as Sasuke, but not the same demeanor. He didn't even wear remotely the same cloths as Sasuke. Sakura had a bad feeling as the door closed behind her.

"You're not Sasuke…" she growled somewhat uncertain.

"You're right" the man snickered as he stood up, "I'm not."

Sakura turned around to see the old woman suddenly turn into none other than Kabuto himself. She knew that this shit was about to get real. She looked back at the man with a scowling face somewhat uncertain of what to do. She didn't know what they wanted from her. Due to her panic induced state, she wasn't about to try and find out. She just had to get the hell **out** of there.

"Why are you making that face? Have a seat and I'll explain everything to you…"

Sakura knew that if Kabuto was involved there wouldn't be much explaining so she replied grumbling, "Go to hell…"

"I've been there before" then man smirked under his mask (though Sakura couldn't see it), "They kicked me out."

"Well aren't you just a badass" she spat back ready to fight if she had to, even if it meant loosing.

"Well would you be kind enough to give me your given name Mrs. Uchiha?" the masked man asked.

Sakura figured Kabuto already told him so she said, "Sakura, **Haurno** Sakura."

"Oh! So you _aren't_ his property" the man concluded for himself.

"I **am** _his_, don't get any ideas… you never told me _your_ name you piece of scum…"

The man crossed his arms getting tired of this girl's attitude, "Uchiha Madara."

Sakura's eyes widened as she muttered, "What the hell?..." to herself.

Before Sakura could even register what was happening she found herself pinned to the wall of the hut with Madara's hand around her chin forcing her to look at him with the other hand supporting his weight against the wall.

"Listen close and listen well you brat. I will stop at _nothing_ to get the embryo growing inside of you. That child has more value than the shinobi world itself. See, if I take it out of you right now, mid-term through your pregnancy, then it won't do me much good because it will be dead. You're coming with me, and that child will be _mine_. Got that?" Madara growled, his hot breath fanning her face.

Sakura whimpered as she felt something get jabbed into her side. It was a kunai, but not a normal one; it was dripping with a green substance. She felt herself going numb and racking with pain at the same time.

"You fool!" Madara shouted, "I told you not to go that deep! You'll hurt the child!"

"My apologies…" Kabuto muttered as he tried to heal the wound just a tad so as not to harm that child inside of Sakura, but still keeping the wound open enough to bleed out and make Sakura weak.

* * *

Sasuke walked into the village just as the sun was starting to rise. He had to travel all night without stopping in order to make it to the village as fast as he could. He was fatigued, but it didn't faze him. He just _had_ to find Sakura. It was more than a mission; it was like his _life_ depended on it. Sasuke roamed around the town unable to find anyone until he saw pineapple shaped hair.

"Shikamaru!" He shouted (a rare occasion).

Shikamaru turned around from the person he was talking to (who happened to be a frantically crying Ino) and gestured Sasuke to come over to them.

"Back from the war huh?" Shikamaru asked in an attempt to keep his cover.

Sasuke was confused for a moment, but then remember the pretenses of his cover and nodded then asked, "Where's Sakura?"

But at the mention of the pinkette's name, Ino burst out into a whole new set of tears. Sasuke didn't like the feeling snaking around in his gut, especially due to the blond's reaction and emotional state.

"We don't know" came Shikamaru's reply accompanied by a frown on his face.

As soon ask Shikamaru had explained the circumstances of Sakura's disappearance Sasuke was off, his eyes blazing red. He wished that Neji was there, because finding Sakura would be a whole lot damn easier. Sasuke however, would be able to detect her chakra in this state almost as easily. He kept running for what seemed like ages. He had to cover his eyes with a hood though, so none of the villagers could see his ocular jutsu and blow his cover, which made finding her that much harder. When he searched the heart of the village and found no trace, he moved to the outskirts. Only then did he see a very vague chakra, Sakura's chakra. Sasuke moved at an unknown speed as he burst through the door of the hut, reducing the door to splinters. The sight before his eyes was one he _never_ could have imagined. Sakura was leaning against a wall, sitting in a pool of her own blood, tied with chakra bands, and her skin as pale as ivory. Sasuke had so many emotions buzzing around in his head that he almost didn't notice the second presence in the room.

"So I see you managed to find us, did you?" came the over confident voice that soon had a face put to it as he stepped out of the shadows.

Sasuke was slightly taken aback at the strange masked man. What made him more anxious was the fact that Kabuto was soon beside him. Sasuke didn't hesitate in sending a glare their way as he put a hand on his katana.

"Tsk tsk" Madara almost chuckled shaking his head, "You're at a disadvantage. We have two hostages and you're threatening me?"

"You have_ one_ hostage" Sasuke hissed back.

"Do I?" Madara asked sarcastically, "Or have you forgotten about your unborn child already?"

Sasuke almost felt like slapping himself for forgetting that. Seeing Sakura in such a dire state caused his brain to partly mal-function. It was almost like parts of his mind were replaced with physical functions and quick abilities instead of memories or common sense.

Sasuke quickly tried to dive for them. He was attempting to at least grab Sakura to take her to safety, but all that happened was he hit the wall. Sakura, along with Kabuto and Madara, disappeared in a puff of smoke. Sasuke cursed to himself as he was left with no trace of her except for the pool of her blood where she was sitting against the wall. Sasuke curled his hands into fists dripping with Sakura's blood as he stood up. Turning to walk out the door of the hut, he had no intention of giving up. He wasn't able to find a single trace of them anywhere, but he knew they couldn't and wouldn't leave that easily. The first thing on his to do list was to find Shikamaru and Ino and send a messenger hawk back to the Hokage to inform her of the situation. As much as Sasuke hated to admit it, if Madara was involved then he would definitely need reinforcements.

"They took her!" he shouted when he slammed the sliding door of the cabin open revealing a shocked Shikamaru and Ino.

"Calm down" Shikamaru tried to tame Sasuke's temper, "Who's they? And who did 'they' take?"

"Sakura! They took her Damnit!" He shouted with his fist clenched.

"Yelling won't get us anywhere!" Shikamaru shouted back as he wrote down a note to have sent to the Hokage, "What happened?"

Sasuke pinched the skin between his eyes before hissing through his clenched teeth, "Kabuto and Uchiha Madara… they took her… and they know about her having my child…"

Shikamaru's eyes widened with shock, but quickly snapped out of it to send the note to Tsunade to inform her of what had happened. After he'd written the note down he handed it to Ino who rolled it up and put it in a tube and attached it to the messenger hawk's back. The only thing they could do now was hope and pray that everything turned out okay.

Sasuke could feel himself mentally cracking as he kept remembering the image of Sakura pale, bleeding, and bruised sitting in a pool of her own blood was burned into his brain. He could never forget the image. Until the day he died he would remember that. He kept blaming himself for not protecting her enough. He felt like if he were stricter and enforced rules for her safety, then none of this would have happened. He decided that enough was enough and he tried to fall asleep, but he couldn't shake her image from his mind.

* * *

Tsunade was sitting peacefully at her desk quite bored to be honest. She was stamping papers and review mission summaries. She had recently looked over the escort mission that Sasuke and his genins had been on. It was a typical mission summary. The only interesting thing about it was the poison injury Akio sustained. She had also known that right after he'd submitted his file folder to her, there was no doubt that he'd taken off to the village on the outskirts of the town where Sakura was. She knew that much anyway.

After about half an hour she heard shouting coming down the hallway. She stood up from her desk to see what the racket was when a man from the decoding branch came into her office.

"What is it?" she asked with a stern expression knowing full well it was something important.

The man was dead silent with an anxious expression as he handed Tsunade the slip of paper with a black stamp on it, marking it as not only urgent, but a madder of security for the village. Her eyes scanned over the sheet of paper and with every line she read her eyes grew seemingly wider.

After she'd finished reading the slip of paper she slammed her fist down on the desk as she shouted, "Get me Kakashi, Naruto, and Sai! It's a matter of national security for not only the leaf but the land of fire!"

* * *

Sorry for taking a while and having it be so short, but I promise that I'll do my best to make the next chapter even more interesting. I just thought that this would be a good cliff hanger!

PLEASE READ AND REVIEW! ^(^0^)^ *WOOT FACE!*


	14. Rude Awakenings

**Disclaimer:** I DO NOT own Naruto.

Hey guys! So sorry that it's been so long! :(

I updated one of my other fan fictions, Love Like This, a few days ago, so if you read that one then you'll know that I'm going to be trying a lot harder to update. In fact, I was at my bf's house just tonight. Yea, I got another bf. Not like my love life's a revolving door or something cause before him it'd been almost 6 months since I'd had a "serious" relationship. It's just that there's like a month in between updates usually, so a lot can happen in that span of time. However, it was careless of me to let it go to TWO months… I really am sorry :(((

I hope that you all can forgive me!

PLEASE REMEMBER TO R&R! ^(^0^)^ *WOOT!*

* * *

Sasuke slowly rose out of bed. It's been almost a week since he'd lost Sakura. He still didn't know where she was or could be, and neither did anyone else. He was a tragic wreck beyond what seemed repairable. Naruto, Sai, and Kakashi had arrived just the other night and Naruto nearly beat the crap out of Sasuke for loosing Sakura, especially when Sakura was pregnant with a child. If Madara got a hold on that child's power and manages to brain wash it then the Uchiha clan would be diminished to the lowest of reputations, contrary to their previous status of being one of the strongest and most reputable clans around. Sasuke wouldn't allow his unborn child to fall under the influence of such a rotten person. He also didn't want to expose Sakura and his son to unspeakably horrific experiments Kabuto was sure to perform, if he hadn't already. Sasuke when he had apprenticed under Orochimaru had seen the horrifying things Kabuto and his former sensei had done to those bodies, and sometimes to corpses. They didn't care if they disrespected the dead or if they violated the living. They would experiment until they satisfied themselves with the sick cries for mercy that came from the innocent human lab rats.

"Sasuke" Naruto said rather gruffly snapping the Uchiha from his day-nightmare.

When the Sasuke looked at Naruto approaching he could see Naruto's silhouette beneath his cloths and could predict every footstep before he made it. His sharingan had activated itself while Sasuke was in his self-induced fit of rage. Sasuke had never felt more embarrassed in his life for letting his powers take control of him like that.

"You look like crap" Sai said unceremoniously yawning as he walked into the room and stood next to Naruto.

Sai's observation wasn't without grounds. Sasuke did indeed, look like crap. His hair had grown slightly shaggy, his facial hair was unshaved, and worst of all his eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep.

Sasuke just narrowed his eyes at the black haired boy. He'd never much liked Sai. It's only natural since Sai _was_ essentially his replacement after he'd left team 7, but Sasuke didn't think that was the reason why he _truly_ disliked the sociopathic look-alike. It was probably because Sai was the only person less emotional then him, especially at this particular moment in time when his emotions were even controlling his powers.

Kakashi walked up beside the other two boys then looked down at Sasuke sitting up in his bed and told him, "Go wash up and fix yourself you lazy disgrace."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at his first sensei then hissed, "You people have _some_ nerve coming in here and ordering me around."

Kakashi didn't hesitate to get in Sasuke's face this time and tell him exactly what was on his mind, "Look at yourself" he snapped, "You sound like some female genin who has her panties in a wad. You're a _grown man_ Sasuke, act like one. Ok, so you lost the love of your life and you don't know where she is, so you stop looking for her? Sure, she's carrying your unborn son, so that's _more_ of a reason to stop looking for her? What the hell's the matter with you? You've turned from a human ice cube to a human mood-ring, except I don't think there are enough colors for all _your_ moods. Now go take your hormonally unbalanced ass into that bathroom and make yourself presentable."

Sasuke simply scowled, but complied. He was being taken for a fool and he wouldn't have it. He wasn't one to cooperate, but he knew that Kakashi was right, even though he'd never admit it or allow anyone to think that was the truth of the matter, that he had given up so easily, so he was wallowing in unwarranted self-pity. He now realized that he should have pushed himself further and driven himself harder.

"You tell him!" Naruto cheered as Sasuke closed the bathroom door behind him. The cottage they had been staying at was running out of room with all of the uninvited guests showing up to help, but Sasuke still was granted his own private room, the one Sakura had been in, which also came with its own bathroom as well.

"Do you think we even did any good telling him that stuff?" Sai asked as they were walking out of the room.

Kakashi scratched the back of his head as he muttered, but audibly, "I know it wasn't what he wanted to hear, but it got to him."

Sai just nodded without any facial expression.

* * *

Shikamaru was outside helping some of the village people with repairs on their market stands and houses. Since Sakura had gone missing there had been several attacks on the village which made the trading go down severely. People were now going hungry and dying of starvation. Shikamaru did all he could to help, but at this rate, their cover was blown. They very people they sought to conceal their presence from had taken one of them. Other than causing general chaos, the attacks also prevented Shikamaru from sending out any search parties to help scout out where Madara and Kabuto might be. With all of the attacks on the village it was easy to assume that it wasn't far away. Madara could kill Sakura if he took her too far away in her already unstable condition. The fact that they still hadn't found any trace of her except the blood stains in the shack where she was last seen unnerved him. It was eerie how someone could be so untraceable. It meant that Madara must be a master concealer.

Shikamaru continued to supervise reconstruction since there was no one else there that could really manage the job correctly and as efficiently as him.

The daily tasks for everyone were: Shikamaru would go into the village to help direct construction and also keep a look out for enemy attacks, Ino would stay home and do domestic chores, Kakashi's "team 7" would either assist all the other platoons protecting the village or they would go off on a quick investigation to look for traces of Sakura, and Sasuke after a week of searching would simply lie in bed all day and basically wallow in his self-pity for something he hadn't even completely lost yet. There was still a chance that she was alive and out there, and that his son was still growing healthily inside of her, but Sasuke tended to be the apitimy of pessimism, so he never thought that way and just mentally beat himself to a pulp.

After a few days without an attack Shikamaru deemed it safe enough to send two search platoons out, team 7 and one other squad as well. When they all came back team 7 had come back surprisingly empty handed, but another group came back with a token they'd all been waiting for. They found Sakura's hitai-ate leaf head band. They knew it was hers because of the red cloth the leaf symbol was attached to. Sasuke was still back at the house helping out because he didn't feel like he had the energy yet to search, but Naruto took the liberty of snatching the head band and running to Sasuke with it. Naruto dashed through the trees towards the cabin and burst into Sasuke's room. The Uchiha raised a brow as he stepped closer to Naruto to see that the blond was presenting the scratched, dented, and ragged headband to him. Sasuke reached out and took it in disbelief. After a week of having nothing they all finally had a glimmer of hope. Soon after, Kakashi burst into Sasuke's room as well with his ninja hounds that sniffed the band for the rosette's sent. Luckily they found it, but Kakashi knew that it'd be best to move out in the morning, it wasn't wise to attack them at night, especially with Sasuke in the condition that he was. The raven haired man lost his need to sleep due to his excitement, but finally feeling that Sakura might be alright gave him the peace of mind to get a good night's rest before their reconnaissance in the morning.

* * *

Down in a low and dingy cave covered with mold from the damp conditions of water trickling through cracks in the rocks, Sakura was still and unmoving. She was sure that her baby inside of her was gone. They hadn't fed her since she got there. The only thing they ever gave her was some occasional water to just barely keep her alive. Sakura could feel her ankles throbbing. They had broken them, both of them, so she would only be able to escape if she crawled. Sakura could feel the dirt and grime built up on her face, she felt horridly disgusting, even with discharge from her nose dripping down falling from the platform of her upper lip. Sakura just couldn't find the energy inside herself to wipe the disgusting iniquities away off her face. She had a strong will only a few days ago that she would be found, but hour by hour her hope was diminishing. Kabuto knew it and took advantage of her melting self-confidence every chance he got.

"Good night, Cherry Blossom" Kabuto said with false sincerity, "I hope your friends don't leave you down here to wilt for too much longer, oh, that's right, they still haven't come looking for you."

"You're wrong…" Sakura growled with her hair covering her eyes, but her lack of energy cause her voice to go unheard by the sinister silver haired nin.

"Try not to stay up too late feeling sorry for yourself Sakura dear. You have a big day tomorrow" Kabuto menacingly chuckled.

After Kabuto said the last statement he snapped his fingers causing a gust of wind to blow out the candles providing any illumination in the ominous cave. Sakura wasn't much for being afraid of the dark, but this darkness of being a victim, not knowing what's happening and what's going to happen, that kind of darkness terrified her. It showed too as tears ran down her cheeks and some dripped off the end of her nose and landed on her slowly withering thighs. She was able to with extreme concentration and effort, creep her forearm up into her lap where her hand could rest on her abdomen. She couldn't feel any life-force inside of her. More tears poured down her face as she softly sobbed. She failed again. She was given a second chance and she was so stupid to mess it up again. If only she'd been smarter about meeting some complete stranger, then none of this would've happened. She kept telling herself that it was safe where they were, they were only gathering intelligence of an enemy threat. Sakura kept scolding herself about her naïveté in being so oblivious. If they were searching for an enemy threat of _course_ it wouldn't be safe! Sakura kept telling herself that Kabuto was wrong, that her friends _were_ looking for her, but as time passed by the hour, her confidence dwindled over and over again.

* * *

"Let's move" came Kakashi's level-headed command for the squad of four that leapt up into the trees hurrying through the trees to the cave that they'd found the coordinates from an intelligence hawk that had followed Kakashi's nin-hounds.

Sasuke's focus was straight ahead. He could _feel_ Sakura's aura closing in as soon as the natural woods turned into a jungle that was definitely not part of the original ecosystem.

"This is Kabuto's doing…" Naruto growled as he looked around at all the dense vegetation, but no one responded to his comment.

As soon as they came to a rock wall covered by vines Sasuke activated his Sharingan and not only could he detect that there was a cave opening through the vines, but also that the vines were laced with chakra making their strength nearly that of metal. Sasuke told everyone step back and asked Kakashi for his assistance in infusing his Katana with double the strength of a regular chidori. Sasuke quickly took the blade and cut through the vines in one solid slash.

"They know we're here" Sasuke said scowling, "There's a good chance that they had an alarm attached to those vines that's alerted them."

"Move fast" Kakashi said as they ran into the cave.

They moved quickly through several corridors trying to trace Sakura's chakra, but someone was masking it.

* * *

"Good morning Sakura" Kabuto said casually as he unlocked the prison cell door picked the pinkette up off the cave floor, "We're going to have a doctor's visit today, you don't look so good."

As much as Sakura wanted to scream, cry out, do something, she couldn't. All she could do is helplessly feel and see herself being carried away by the man she feared the most at the moment, the one who was sure to torture her more than he already has.

"You could've let her keep her legs…" Madara commented as he noticed Sakura's broken ankles, "Then you wouldn't have to carry her around like a ragdoll."

Kabuto smirked as he said, "If I had done that she would've escaped by now. You don't give this girl enough credit Madara-sama."

Madara just shrugged as he opened a steel door that had thousands of mutations lining the wall in some sort of green solution. Sakura whimpered softly as Kabuto set her down on a metal table and strapped her down with her arms at her sides.

"What are you planning on doing?" Madara asked.

"I want a new specimen of course" Kabuto replied.

Madara grew angry as he hissed, "I thought I told you I wanted to raise that child to rebuild the Uchiha clan in it's _true_ image!"

Kabuto pushed his glasses further up his nose as he calmly replied, "The baby died days ago, I can't resurrect the developing dead. I can only salvage what DNA is left in it."

Sakura felt tears running down her face as her suspicions were confirmed, that the baby was in fact, dead.

"They're here" Madara said almost angrily as he headed for the door but turned around to tell Kabuto one last thing, "You better not have killed that baby on purpose, and don't you _dare_ kill the girl."

With that last statement, Madara went storming out of the room. Madara wasn't a fool he wasn't going to stick around and fight a battle he couldn't win. Kabuto was on his own, he couldn't easily kidnap the pinkette another time. His main priority now was to get away and erase his tracks.

* * *

"Where the hell _is_ she Sasuke growled as he stormed into a lower room that looked much like a dungeon with a few candles lining the walls providing little illumination.

The others followed behind him and were just as curious about the room as he was. There was water dripping in random locations from cracks in the rock so Sasuke figured there was an underground river somewhere around here. The room was dead silent except for the dripping water splashing against the rock.

"Come look over here" Naruto said as he pointed to an open prison sell that had blood stains against the back wall where it was evident someone was sitting.

Sasuke briskly walked over then entered the cell scowling as he looked at the blood stains. He wiped his hand over the wall, some of it was still fresh blood. As he concentrated on the life chakra inside the blood he soon discovered it was what he thought it was. It was _Sakura's_ blood.

"Damnit!" He shouted as he stood up and punched the wall causing the wall the crack in several directions and the room shook some.

"Easy there" Naruto tried to calm him, "You're going to bring this place down if you do that again."

"They took her again!" he shouted, "We came so close! But they _took_ her!"

Kakashi put his hand on his student's shoulder in an attempt to calm him saying, "Things aren't always as they appear, use your senses Sasuke, she's still here."

"Where?" he growled ravenously.

He was beyond mad. He was furious. He could commit genocide at that moment and not bat an eyelash. His homicidal instincts had him in overdrive, and he could soon sense Sakura's presence on the other far end of the cave. It was being masked, but whoever was masking it was losing their focus from doing something else. Sasuke quickly panicked and went racing off head strong towards where he sensed the pinkette. Everyone else was following behind him.

* * *

Sakura's eyes grew large as Kabuto took a needle with a blue solution in it. He was told not to kill the girl, but that didn't mean he couldn't numb her temporarily. Kabuto flicked up and down her arm for a vein and found one.

"Don't worry" he falsely reassured her, "This won't hurt one bit."

He pushed the needle into her arm and injected the fluid as her body started to convulse. She felt pain in every cell of her body. She actually mistook the feeling for dying, was he killing her? No, but the pain was. After 15 seconds of agony she'd never known before, she couldn't feel anything, nothing. She couldn't feel her skin. She couldn't feel her throat when she breathed. She couldn't even feel _if_ she was breathing, she just assumed she was. Her eyes widened in fright as she saw Kabuto look at a tray of cutting tools, eventually deciding on the scalpel.

"Ready for your caesarian?" he asked chuckling with a sick smile.

Sakura started crying, but couldn't even move. Kabuto cut a slit in her cloths over her abdomen and then cut the skin. Even though Sakura couldn't feel anything she could see what was happened. Kabuto eventually cut through the uterine wall and pulled out the half developed fetus. Sakura watched in horror as he deceased, unborn child, was pulled from her body. She couldn't help hold it anymore. Even though she hadn't eaten anything, she threw up.

"Disgusted by your own child?" Kabuto asked snidely.

At that moment Sakura was still throwing up the door busted open as four horror plastered faces look inside. Even Sai had an expression of absolute horror.

"No…" Sasuke growled clenching his fists at his side, "No…"

Naruto was about to yell at the disgusting experimental nin, but Sasuke beat him to it, "You bastard!"

Sasuke yelled those words and charged at the four-eyes. He didn't expect to hit Kabuto on the first strike, but the man was so distracted by his newly acquired "prize" that Sasuke ran him straight through. Naruto and Sai immediately ran over to Sakura's aide. The baby that was in Kabuto's hand was dead, that was for certain, but Sakura could still be saved. Naruto wasn't about to let Sasuke loose his child _and_ the love of his life in one foul swoop.

"Sakura!" Naruto yelled, "Wake up!"

Tears started to run down the blond's face as her eyes remained open and unmoving as he screamed her name. Naruto thought she was dead and started sobbing, but Sai took a closer look. He found the empty syringe on a tray near them that had administered the numbing solution. Sai knew what it was because there was some of it still in the tube.

"She's not dead" he said flatly, "She's been overdosed."

Naruto looked up at Sai with side eyes still glassy with tears falling every so often, "She's not?" he asked.

"No" he confirmed, "But she will be if we don't act fast."

"Stay here" Sai said as he looked for a cure around the lab facility.

Kabuto had to keep a catalyst to all his serums in case they went horribly wrong, like now.

Kabuto looked at Sasuke with a smirk saying, "That Sharingan isn't going to be just yours for long."

Sasuke ran his blade through the man further cause him to grunt and clutch the blade slicing his fingers in the process. Kakashi tried to lend a helping hand by starting a chidori, but Sasuke quickly put his hand out in front of his sensei.

"No" he growled, "Let me exact my _own_ vengeance."

Kakashi nodded and disbanded the lighting blade taking a step back. He respected Sasuke wishes, and with Kabuto in the state he's in, it wouldn't be too hard to kill him right now, for anyone. Sai continued to wander around the shelves looking at labels until he came across what he was looking for. He quickly grabbed the syringe full of orange liquid and ran back over to where Naruto was holding Sakura's hand. He quickly flicked Sakura's arm for a vein. As soon as he found one he wasted no time in injecting the antidote.

"Find me a needle and plastic thread!" he yelled quickly after he injected it. Naruto scrambled looking across the trays and found what Sai requested and quickly bringing it over to him.

"This isn't going to work…" he growled to himself. Kabuto had made such a small cut in her cloths that he couldn't stitch it closed without sowing her cloths into her skin, "Forgive me Sasuke…" he muttered as he ripped her lower cloths in half exposing everything she had down there.

Sai didn't have feelings for Sakura so it didn't faze him at all. Her life was on the line and that was way more important to him to anything, so much so that he didn't even blink as he stitched up her uterine wall that Kabuto had sloppily cut in a hurry to get the dead Uchiha fetus. Sai soon closed up her skin and then looked for something to cover Sakura's lower region with, there was no reason to expose her loner than what was necessary.

Sasuke looked Kabuto in the eye and soon discovered that the man had snapped. He wasn't himself. Sasuke knew this fight was going to end way too soon for his taste. He wanted to see Kabuto suffer and even cry uncle before he died. Sasuke wanted to see him suffer for everything he put Sakura through. He was going to hurtle it back on Kabuto ten-fold.

"Prepare your soul…" Sasuke menacingly growled as he looked up at Kabuto with fiery-red eyes.

Kabuto didn't let the fear show on his face, but he knew he was dead. Sasuke slowly ran his blade the rest of the way through Kabuto down to the hilt. Then Sasuke crudely twisted the blade 90 degrees. Kabuto yelled out in pain and feel to his knees. Sasuke kept the furious look on his face and he slowly sliced through Kabuto's side causing not only Kabuto's insides to spill out, but blood went everywhere, including on Sasuke. Kakashi couldn't look anymore and had to turn around. It was up to his student to do what he felt was right. It's not like Kakashi felt sorry for Kabuto after the sight they witnessed. Kakashi couldn't imagine the pain Sasuke was in right now.

"Please!" he yelled, "Please don't!"

Sasuke eventually got his blade the rest of the way out through Kabuto's side and flicked the blood off as he kicked Kabuto onto his back and stood over him.

"Don't what?" he sneered angrily, "Don't kill you? Like how you spared my unborn child? Don't torture you like how you tortured Sakura? I don't think so."

Sasuke put the tip of his blade on Kabuto's forehead and slowly put pressure on his to cut through the skin cause a small stream of blood to trickle down the side of his forehead and off his ear. Sasuke continued to put pressure on the blade as it slowly went through Kabuto's skull as soon as Sasuke was sure it was through the skull and just barely touching Kabuto's brain, he decided to deal the final blow.

"Burn in hell" Sasuke said soon followed by, "Chidori!"

The blade came to life with a blue glow. Kabuto let out a shrill scream at his brain being fried, Naruto and Sai looked away. The sheer pressure of the electrocution caused Kabuto's eyes to pop out of his sockets and rest on each side of his head. As soon as Sasuke was sure that the silver haired man was dead he pulled his sword up and shook Kabuto's head off of it. After he wiped his sword off he returned it to his sheath. He then realized that Sakura was over on the table and quickly rushed over to see if she was dead like he thought she was from her lifeless gaze earlier.

"She's fine" Sai said as soon as the Uchiha made it over to the table, "But don't let your breath out just yet, you need to take her to a medic, and fast. I only just stabilized her, just barely. I'm not a medic, so I couldn't do everything that she needs. She's malnourished and dehydrated. Go. We'll take care of things here."

Sasuke nodded and picked Sakura up off the table gingerly keeping the cloth Sai had put around her waist to cover what wasn't supposed to be exposed. Sasuke eventually made it back to the village where half the village's nin-forces for staked out. He ran through the crowd and soon found a tent with a medical symbol on it. He burst through the flaps of the tent and saw Ino who immediately turned around and gasped.

"Give her to me!" Ino shrieked as she laid Sakura down on a medical mat, "I'll do what I can" she assured him as she ushered him out of the tent.

Sasuke tripped over himself as he was pushed out of the tent and into the camp. He fell to his hands and knees as he began to heavily breathe. He'd finally found her, and she was going to be ok, but he'd failed her. He wasn't there to help her last time, and he failed to protect her this time too. Eventually he was able to get back up and walked to the cabin where they'd been staying. As soon as he walked through the door he found Shikamaru bent over a stack of papers.

"Hey" came the stoic man's greeting.

Sasuke nodded at him then said, "We found her."

Shikamaru shot up from his seat asking, "What happened? Where is she? Is she ok?"

Sasuke took his time answering but eventually said, "Yes, she's ok, and she's in the medical tent with Ino."

Shikamaru scowled then scoffed, "Damn that woman, I told her not to work in her current condition…" and walked towards the door but turned around to say, "Go shower and get some sleep, you look like crap."

"Thanks…" Sasuke muttered as the door closed with Shikamaru on the other side.

Sasuke hopped in the shower watching the bottom of the tub turn red with almost dried blood, Kabuto's blood. Sasuke was grateful that creep was finally dead. He's was even more grateful that he'd been able to do the deed himself allowing him to get back at Kabuto with immense torture not quite equal to Sakura's. She'd lost yet another child. Sasuke knew that she must feel horrible for not being able to protect herself and her child, but he knew that was _his_ responsibility, not hers. He would get the chance to finally talk to her, hold her, kiss her, love her before tomorrow was over. That thought alone, knowing she was safe with Ino in the medical tent, allowed him to close his eyes for once without regret.

* * *

_**To Be Continued…**_

* * *

I'm So happy I finally got this done! It's amazing! I must say I really outdid myself this time! I actually feel like I really put good length on this one as far as Microsoft word is concerned, this is 4,500 words!

PLEASE REVIEW! I LOVE YOU ALL! ^(^0^)^ *WOOT!*


	15. Think It Through

**Disclaimer: **I DO NOT own Naruto.

Hey guys! I'm sorry that I have hardly been updating school's been going on for two weeks and I've been busy practically all summer :3

But sadly I won't be updating frequently like I'd hoped. I really need to make all A's and B's this semester so I can get my license and get a job and start saving up money for college and a place to stay. I really do hope you'll forgive me :3 What I'm going to do is I'm planning on finishing this story and then the other one I have going and then once I finish those two stories I plan on going on hiatus as an author and just making stories in folders and documents and such without actually publishing them on here and then when I have about 90% done I'll start doing a weekly update like clock-work and while I do the weekly updates on chapters and such I'll finish the last 10% while that's happening. Make sense? Anyways I figured it would be less frustrating for me in terms of responsibility and it would be less frustrating for you as readers. I just wanted to give you some sneak peaks of what I have coming up!

The Kingdom (5% done)– set in a more medieval setting, Sakura's parents are brutally murdered by Sasuke's evil uncle Madara, who's exiled for his crime. Sasuke decides to take on Sakura as his own responsibility, but what adventures will that lead to?

Attitude (35% done) – Sasuke is a spoiled brat who has no appreciation for anything. What happens when his parents send him to live with his brother Itachi on a ranch/farm? Especially when Itachi has two adopted teens Sasuke's age, Sakura and Sai.

Love's Enduring Promise (4% done) – [[sequel to Love Comes Softly]] Sasuke finally comes home from college over seas, but what will he find when he comes back? Much to his surprise few little remains the same. What will he do to amend the withering bonds between him and his bride of one day?

((Rurouni Kenshin fic [not yet named])) (20% done) Kaoru is the niece of a wealthy political figurehead uncle. What happens when her uncle hired Kenshin, to be a personal bodyguard who follows her everywhere and watches her every move. Will Kaoru embrace it, or will she put her foot down?

Hope you eagerly await what is to come! Feel free to private message me with questions on any of those stories. I might not have a lot written but I can tell you right now I have the perfect plot line for "The Kingdom" I also plan on making another one called "Pink Shrew" based on taming of the shrew by Shakespeare (of course more modern and funny). So please be sure to message me and leave reviews/comments! I'd be more than happy to respond!

PLEASE REMEMBER TO READ AND REVIEW **WOOT FACE!** ^(^0^)^

* * *

Sasuke awoke suddenly by a knock on his door. It was Naruto again. The blond invited himself in and sat sideways on the foot of Sasuke's bed with a slight grin on his face. Sasuke just silently and menacingly glared at him with a hint of confusion wonder just what it was the dobe wanted from him.

"She's asking for you" Naruto finally sighed with a sympathetic voice that was slightly crackly.

Sasuke's eyes widened at her being awake finally. He knew that she must be distraught after everything that had happened and he planned on spending one more day here then immediately taking her back to Konoha to make sure that she got the best medical attention to fix of anything that Ino couldn't as well as make sure that nothing else has been damaged. Sasuke was also concerned for her rest. She wasn't really known for accepting a slower pace or taking her time, unless it was to annoy someone else.

"You might wana go down there man, she's pretty upset" the blond added.

Sasuke didn't need to be told twice. He threw the covers off and put on a shirt before running out of the home and down the dirt path toward the encampment where Sakura was. He threw the flaps of the tent open to see a half lidded Sakura mumbling and seemingly acting as if she were a zombie. Sasuke quickly went to his knees by her side and took her hand and told her that he was there.

"huh….?" Sakura grumbled confused as she looked over to Sasuke and saw his concerned face looming over hers.

Sakura let a bitter smile take over her face as she started to shed tears and whimper, "I did it again…"

Sasuke felt horrible and knew that she had no fault in it what so ever. She had been sent on a mission and was only doing what she'd been told to do. On top of that her protection wasn't just her problem. She shouldn't completely take the blame for yet another lost, unborn child.

"Don't ever say that" Sasuke said sternly as he felt his insides ripping apart as he continued, "Your safety isn't just your problem. That child wasn't just yours, I should've told Tsunade explicitly not to send you anywhere. I should have come sooner. There are so many things that I could've done over to help you, but it just didn't work out that way Sakura. The most important thing right now is to make sure you're in good enough shape to travel. I'm taking you back to Konoha."

Sakura looked up at him with questioning eyes as she asked, "Why so soon?"

"I'm getting you out of the line of fire. You've been put in enough danger and I'm never going to loose you like that _ever_ again."

* * *

Sakura knew that Sasuke's decision was final, so silent and defeated she packed what little things she had stored in the cabin before stepping out onto the front porch, although it was more of a limp than a walk. She took one last good look around the place she was leaving. She hated leaving so soon. She hoped to be able to help rather than _be_ helped and catered to. Sasuke followed out the door behind her. He knew it was important to be able to get her to go back to Konoha. It was far too dangerous for her out in the boonies where they were. Sasuke had specifically talked to Shikamaru earlier and informed him of their departure. Shikamaru said that they would be out there for another two days or so before everyone else headed back as well.

Sasuke squatted on the ground in front of Sakura and made a gesture with his hands for her to hop onto his back. Sakura rolled her eyes but humored him by climbing carefully onto his back and wrapping her arms around his neck, at least traveling like this she could get some rest. She tried to find the good side of all of this but the truth was she felt hollow inside. The extra heartbeat she once had was now gone, her hand over that region of her body reminded her of that absence of life. She felt completely responsible for it. She should have never been walking around alone, let alone jump into something that she thought she knew about.

Sasuke leapt off the ground and into the trees jumping from branch to branch. It was a long trip home; if he kept traveling without rest then he might get there the next morning. Since Sakura was on his back she could get some sleep, and he didn't need any. He knew that he was over exhausting himself; he hadn't eaten for days, and the fact that he was still in emotional shock added to his declining health, but Sakura was worse. Most of her fingers were still broken, for the most part her lungs were in bad shape from breathing that humid clammy air in the cavern she was forced to reside in for days, she needed treatment over time it was bad. She was also in worse emotional shock then Sasuke. She had to watch Kabuto do the deed of the devil as he extracted life from her. The life _she_ and _Sasuke_ created. Sakura eventually went limp on Sasuke's back, and he could easily tell that she was gone off to a better place in her subconscious, or so he thought. After a few hours he felt tears soaking the back of his shirt, she was crying in her sleep. He had to keep himself from loosing it seeing just how much pain the pinkette was in. That night running through the hospital doors of Konoha at 4am, he promised himself that he would die before he saw Sakura put through that much again. All he could do was collapse in the middle of the lobby causing a stretcher to be sent for him as well.

* * *

"Uchiha!" came a booming feminine voice causing the raven-haired man to open his eyes slowly but surely as his vision went from double to single, and a blond right in his face.

Her amber eyes were filled with rage and mixed emotions as she asked, "What the _hell_ happened back there? Why is my favorite pupil lying in a hospital bed hovering in and out of consciousness! Explain yourself!"

Sasuke knew he didn't have time for Tsunade's nonsense and he accusations, but he humored her anyway, "She was kidnapped while on the mission _you_ sent her to do. She was tortured, starved, and had her child removed from her womb as she watched the deed being done."

Tsunade covered her mouth as tears pooled in the corners of her eyes muttering, "What?..." in disbelief.

Sasuke frowned before he ripped the IV out of his arm, stood up, and walked towards her growling, "This is why she can't leave the village when she's pregnant, she's weak, and because it's an _Uchiha_ she's carrying it's like asking for someone to just take her out from under your nose. You don't realize just how much more important of a target she is than other women in a similar circumstance as her. Don't _ever_ send her out on a mission without my consent _ever_ _**again**_."

The Uchiha's words resonated like that of a judge's gavel as he left the room in search of Sakura. He wandered down a few corridor halls as he read nametags on the doors wondering where on earth she could be.

"Excuse me…" a nurse came up behind him, "If you're looking for Sakura she's being held in ICU on the next floor. Make a right and go all the way down the hall and she's on the left."

Sasuke nodded in appreciation as he made his way to the elevator. The bell chimed and he entered the elevator only to see Naruto standing there as well.

Naruto gave him a goofy smile as he said, "I knew I'd see you here."

"Hn" was all Sasuke leaked out of his mouth as he entered the elevator and pressed the button going to the next floor up.

"So how is she?" Naruto asked thinking that Sasuke would have already seen her.

"I don't know" was his honest answer as he glared at Naruto out of the corner of his eyes warning him to now ask any more questions.

As far as Sasuke was concerned Sakura was _his_ responsibility and Naruto asking those kinds of questions about her just rubs his failure to protect her in his face, and he didn't like it. It made him feel like he was a failure at the only thing he ever deemed purposeful and important in his life.

When the elevator doors opened Sasuke was the first one out and sped walked down the hall towards Sakura's room. He'd be damned if he wasn't the first person to see her if she was awake. But sadly when he walked through the doors into the room she was unconscious. He was surprised that she was able to walk around when they were in the village way back. More than happy with his decision to carry her back to Konoha, Sasuke let out a mental sigh of relief that her vital signs were stable. However a nurse that tended to Sakura told them that Sakura would require intense treatment, especially on her hands. They were practically, completely shattered, and pieces of her ribs weren't just out of place but _missing_. Sasuke knew he was going to have to go back to an empty house that night much to his despair. He decided that he would stay with Sakura for as long as his fatigued, worn body would allow him before a nurse made him leave. Naruto for once stayed silent as he stood by Sakura's bedside for a while, but eventually left leaving Sasuke and Sakura alone. Sasuke never knew the true meaning of loneliness until he realized just how much he missed Sakura's eyes being open, her breath where he could sense it (not inside an oxygen mask), and most of all her overall presence. It was a cold and desolate walk home for the Uchiha who staggered and plodded all the way back to the compound and collapsed on his bed not even bothering to take a shower or clean up the slightest bit.

* * *

Sakura awoke the next morning startled when the heat of Sasuke was absent. The last she remembered she was on his back, but then she realized that there was a presence of warmth on her hand. It was a very scraggly and very disoriented Uchiha, _her_ Uchiha. It was clear that all he'd done was barely bathe. He hadn't shaved or cut his hair so it was looking slightly mangy. She didn't realize just how long she'd been sleeping.

"Sasuke?" she said in disbelief as she felt the five o' clock shadow on his face that was almost a beard, "How long have I been out?"

Sasuke took her hand off his face and put it back into his hands again as he grumbled, "A week and a half…"

"Sakura!" came a voice from the doorway, "You're really awake!"

It was Ino carrying a bouquet of flowers from the shop. She had come to visit Sakura several times after the shop closed bringing some of the left over carnations from the store to put on her bed-stand table in a vase. Ino had been worried _almost_ as much as Sasuke and Naruto, who was bound to show up any minute. Sakura quickly sat up and put a hand on her head causing Sasuke to stand up and put his hands on her shoulders forcing her to lye back again on the bed. Ino was already hugging Sakura and refusing to let go.

"Ino pig…" Sakura gasped, "I can't breathe!"

Ino finally let go with her friend's plea for air, but held onto her other hand that wasn't occupied by the Uchiha's. Sakura never imagined such a welcoming party to be in her company for only being conscious for a few minutes. Sakura smiled to herself with inner thoughts that it was all finally over. Then a nurse walked in and informed her that she needed to stay for another week to continue treatment on her missing bones and shattered fingers. Sakura looked at her hands with a distant and sad expression, they were the hands that were supposed to protect what was important. She'd failed, and every time she told herself that she could slowly feel her heart sink down into the bottoms of her stomach.

"Stop it" Sasuke growled with a scowl on his face, "I already know what you're thinking."

Sakura just gave him her own scowl before looking away and resuming a placid and distant look on her face. She didn't look forward to the long road of recovery ahead of her. She only wished that she could close her eyes and count to ten and this would all be a bad dream, but she knew that was too good to be true. She didn't want to spend another minute in this hospital. She wanted to go back to her shower at home and cry like the last time she did when she'd lost a child. The worst part was that she was so _close_. She was only a month or so away. Her abdomen was still swollen from it, but there was nothing else there.

"Ready for your daily treatment?" A nurse asked as she brought in a small cup filled with a gooey white liquid.

Sakura knew what it was. It was a solution made to grow bone back. It was a mixture of chakra infused calcium and a regeneration genetic code. It tasted brutally bitter, but she knew that it was the only way to grow back the bones that she'd lost. Sasuke looked at her with slightly saddened eyes as she scrunched her face swallowing the disgusting medicine. The nurse gave her some water to wash it down with before beginning the treatment on her fingers.

After treatment Sakura was put under anesthetics so the medicine could get through her system quicker. Sasuke made it a habit to visit her everyday before they gave her the treatment and put her under. He would stay an extra few minutes just to watch her face in repose. The only time he didn't see her eyes drown with sorrow was when they were closed. He wanted to make her smile again, he didn't want her to ever feel like she's failed. She didn't fail him, he had failed her. They each had a role to play in the process of having a child and neither of them dreamed that something this horrendous could happen so suddenly. Sasuke now knew he had to investigate who was after his future offspring, and _why_. He knew that Sakura was the one in the lion's den and had probably heard all of what they wanted. They were close to getting it too. He now regretted killing Kabuto so soon. He wanted to squeeze him like a snake squeezed a rat, until he'd squeak everything he knew. Sasuke had to many questions and too few answers, so on the last day of Sakura's hospitalization he kissed her on the forehead while she was unconscious before leaving the room. He had to go speak with Tsunade.

* * *

"Tsunade-sama… there's a-"

"Send him in" Tsunade said waving her hand lazily while looking at some papers, "I already know who it is."

The lady bowed before leaving the room and sending Sasuke in. Tsunade looked at her papers for a few minutes just to see how long the Uchiha would wait, but surprisingly she knew he was dead set on something because he didn't say a word, he just narrowed his eyes at her the whole time like they would bore holes through her skull and torture her.

"You already gave me the business about Sakura," she growled looking up from her papers to look into Sasuke's eyes, "What do you want now?"

"I want to go on a reconnaissance mission" he stated swiftly with confidence.

Tsunade rubbed the palms of her hands and examined them as she asked, "Why?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes even further as he growled, "This isn't fair to Sakura. She and my future children are being hunted down for their DNA and the Sharingan, at least that's what I suppose is happening. I want to know who's behind this and why."

Tsunade stood up from her chair and walked to face the window behind her desk looking out over the leaf village. Everything seemed so peaceful, not everyone had even discovered what had yet happened to the poor pinkette and the future of the Uchiha clan. The future was literally in the palm of her hands, right in front of her, but she was left with a choice, a hard choice. She could either, let the Uchiha out of the village and risk Sakura's mental stability again like the last time he was gone after she'd lost a child, or she could allow him to go and get valuable information that could lead to Sakura's safety. It was a hard choice to make, but Tsunade wished that there was just more time.

"Are you sure you want to leave Sakura in the mental state she's in?" Tsunade asked hoping Sasuke would change his mind and allow someone else to go.

Sasuke looked sideways rethinking his motivation. He wanted to protect Sakura, but he knew that he also needed to protect Sakura from herself, her negative thoughts, her habit of curling into her own shell of self pity and wallowing. Knowing full well that's what she was going to do if he left, Sasuke was reconsidering everything. Leaving the village sounded like a really good plan at the start, until Tsunade pointed out that one major flaw.

"Could you send someone else? I need to know who's behind this…" Sasuke asked sincerely as he got up.

Tsunade smiled to herself, "Of course, I'll even let you pick who goes if that makes you feel better."

Tsunade wasn't used to compromising with people, but the fact that she was able to get the Uchiha to reconsider his brash plan put him in her good graces. Sasuke nodded and left her office quickly, wondering who on earth was going to be able to fill the shoes of something like that. He clenched his fists facing down at the cobble stone streets of Konoha as he thought of mixed feelings. He knew that Sakura needed someone to protect her, someone to comfort her, someone to lift some of that blame and burden off her shoulders so she didn't recoil into an abyss of depression like she did before. On the other hand he didn't want anyone else going to get the personal information on _his_ vendetta of things to do. He wanted to solve and deal with this problem _personally_. He didn't want anyone else getting involved, but if he had to pick someone he knew that Kakashi was his safest bet.

He found Kakashi in the usual spot, reading his perverted novels up in a tree on the training grounds.

"Get down here" came Sasuke's commanding voice as he punched the tree causing it to fall over.

Kakashi hopped down from the tree scratching the back of his head as he said, "Yo…"

Sasuke rolled his eyes before saying, "I need a favor."

Kakashi scowled at him then said, "First you abruptly halt my reading by forcefully destroying my seat, and then ask me for a favor? Don't think so."

Just as Kakashi was turning around to leave Sasuke said, "Then do it for Sakura…"

That last statement had peaked Kakashi's interest so he turned back around which meant he was listening. Sasuke told Kakashi about someone being after Sakura and Sasuke's child, and how Sasuke wanted to go on a reconnaissance mission, but didn't want to leave Sakura alone in the village due to what had happened. Surprisingly enough, Kakashi didn't know just how serious Sakura's injuries were, both physically and mentally. Kakashi waved goodbye to his student before launching off into the trees headed towards Tsunade's office to get he details on the mission.

Sasuke wiped a few stray hairs from his face to the side before turning around and heading towards the hospital. What lay in store for him there, he wasn't sure.

* * *

_**To Be Continued…**_

* * *

Sorry guys that it's taken so long to update! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and hopefully the next won't be too far behind! Love you all!

PLEASE REMEMBER TO REVIEW! ^(^0^)^ WOOT FACE!


	16. Sharing Sorrow

**Disclaimer:** I DO NOT own Naruto.

This next chapter is brought to you by the grace of Thanksgiving break! No school! However I'm screwed because I did have some assignments that I was "assigned" to do haha. But oh well, it's break. No one can tell me what to do! I'm really sorry for making you guys wait so freaking long for this! I had fun writing it and it's like the story all came flowing back to me like never before. I didn't even need to reference previous chapters! CREEPY! Anyway's happy turkey day! And I hope you all are enjoying this wonderful Autumn season as much as I am!

PLEASE READ AND REVIEW! ^(^0^)^ *WOOT FACE!*

* * *

Kakashi had just let Tsunade's office with the mission details he needed and assured Sasuke that he'd send messenger hawks strait to him _and_ to Tsunade to keep them posted. This ordeal wasn't public yet, and Tsunade hoped to keep it that way for as long as she could.

Sasuke had made his way back to the hospital and found that Sakura had checked herself out. Immediately, he panicked and went running through the halls hoping she hadn't made it out of the hospital yet, but a nurse assured him that she saw the Pinkette walk right through the doors at the front of the hospital and left. Sasuke didn't know where she'd gone, worse, he wasn't sure what she was capable of in her current state. He rushed down the street and ran into Naruto who immediately saw the panic underneath his friend's façade.

Naruto grabbed Sasuke's arm then said, "I found her wandering around the streets. I took her back to your place and made her go to sleep. She's there waiting for you."

Sasuke didn't sigh on the outside, but he was exasperated with relief on the inside. He nodded at Naruto and then took off full speed down the street towards the Uchiha compound. When he got there he found it rather peaceful, a little too peaceful. He was utterly suspicious that something was wrong so he quickly, but quietly made his way into the house to check on Sakura. When he walked in he didn't find anything wrong. Even when he went into the bedroom he found Sakura exactly the way Naruto said he'd left her. Sasuke sat on the bed and let himself relax a little for the first time in several weeks. Sakura was back home safe and sound, his number one priority, but then he though about priority number two, his child. He put his face into the palms of his hands, and for the first time since his parents died, he cried. Silently, he let his tears soak his palms and then seep through his fingers and drip onto the floor.

Sakura violently awoke when she felt an abrupt chakra signature. When she quickly sat up, she saw Sasuke sitting on the other side of the bed facing away from her, and his shoulders were shaking. She crawled across the bed and sat with her legs under her and wrapped her arms around his neck and put her face next to his. Sasuke didn't show any signs of acknowledging her, but Sakura knew that he knew she was there. His tears were making her crumble inside; to see him so torn apart just ripped her to pieces. She let a few tears fall herself, but she'd already been crying practically non-stop since she'd lost her child, so she didn't have many tears left to shed before she was empty. After the two of them had finished shedding what tears they had left, Sakura got up and went to stand in front of Sasuke then leaned down and moved his palms from his face and lifted his chin up to face her. They both had swollen wet eyes and red puffy cheeks. Sakura leaned down further and kissed his cheeks in an attempt to try and stop the tears from falling from his eyes. Sasuke had never been comforted in such a way before, but he wanted more. He pulled Sakura down on him and then up onto the bed underneath him.

"I promise to love you until I die, I will always protect you, even if that means protecting you from yourself" Sasuke said as his face loomed over hers.

"Sasuke-" she tried to say something back.

"Marry me" he interrupted her, "Marry me and we'll always share everything together, we'll never have an excuse to let the other go."

"Sasuke I'm sorry if I scared you, but-"

"You don't want to?" he asked almost in shock as he sat back up and looked at the Pinkette who sat up after him and looked him right in the eye.

"That's not it at all!" she protested unable to look him in the eyes, "I just don't want you to propose out of fear of loosing me, I don't want you to rush into anything you don't truly want, cause it'll wind up hurting me more than you can imagine."

"I can't imagine how much you've _already_ been hurt" Sasuke tried to reassure her, "I'm asking because I want you, and only you, I want you to only be mine. Understand?"

Sakura nodded as tears fell down her face and she leaned into Sasuke's chest and cried mixed tears of joy for one of life's milestones and sadness for the one lost twice along the way. She still wasn't sure that if Sasuke was doing the right thing or not, but she was so caught up in the moment that she didn't care. No number of times they'd shared together could compare to the moment they were sharing right now. It was as if they both had the same mind and body and they were only holding each other. Sakura couldn't describe the sensation, but she knew she wanted more of it.

* * *

Sunlight seeped through the blinds into Sasuke's room right onto the pinkette's face which made her slowly look over at the clock on the nightstand, which made her eyes almost pop out of her hea

"It's 9:30!" she shouted, "It's _9:30_! Tsunade's going to kill me!"

Sasuke rubbed his head as he sat up only to catch a glint of pink hair flying out of the door. He slowly slid himself sideways and stood up out of the bed heading towards the kitchen.

"What are you doing? Running around like a chicken with its head cut off?" Sasuke grumbled as he attempted to rub the sleep from his eyes.

Sakura didn't mean to wake him up, but she just sheepishly grinned as she said, "I forgot to set an alarm last night, and I'm supposed to work tomorrow, my shift started thirty minutes ago and I'm not even _ready_ to leave the house!"

Sasuke shrugged and arrogantly said, "You're already late, what's the rush?"

Sakura's face turned red as she seethed, "It matters because there's a difference between an accident, and intentionally not caring. Tsunade can tell the difference you nonchalant fool. Not every has to luxury of choosing what work they do."

Sasuke shrugged again as he walked back into the bedroom.

Sakura shook her head as she said, "I have a whole life ahead of me of this…"

Heading for the door the pinkette took one last glance over her shoulder to see the raven-haired man standing in the doorway of the bedroom in his pajama robe staring at her. She flashed him a big smile before going outside and closing the door behind her. She then walked down the sidewalk towards the hospital. Sasuke was right she guessed, there was no need to roof jump to work if she was already late she might as well enjoy a nice walk getting there. Although as soon as she walked inside the slider doors of the hospital up to the employee sign in she regretted taking her time. There was a note next to her name on the clipboard that said, "See me in my office immediately." She mentally scolded herself for the attitude she took on, on the whim of Sasuke's suggestion. However when she went into Tsunade's office she was rather surprised, pleasant or not Sakura wasn't sure, but Tsunade didn't have a nasty expression of distain on her face.

"I have a mission for you" Tsunade said as Sakura sat down in the seat in front of Tsunade's desk.

Tsunade put a bottle of pills on the counter in front of the girl saying, "You can't let the last two times get you down. The first one was nature and the second one was unfortunate. If I hadn't been so careless with assigning your location then you'd have a healthy child by now. Please forgive me."

Sakura couldn't believe the sincerity in the blond's voice. Tsunade had never been so empathetic towards her before. Sakura was simply baffled. She thought that she was in for for being so late to work that morning, but infact all she received was understanding and compassion. Sakura wasn't exactly sure hot to take it all in, but she picked up the bottle of pills off of Tsunade's desk and read the label. Sakura's eyes went wide.

_Fertility Supplement. Take one daily at the same time of day._

"I want you to keep trying Sakura, don't give up. You're not a failure, and I _know_ you're not a quitter" came Tsunade's reassuring voice.

Sakura nodded and smiled trying not to let her tears fall. Except unlike the tears cried the night before, these were tears of gratitude and joy. Sakura stood up and bowed at a ninety-degree angle in front of Tsunade's desk and stayed that was for several seconds.

"Stand up already, take those pills before I change my mind and give you a horrible mission that'll send you out of the land of fire. Go." Tsunade grumbled trying to look authoritative, but couldn't help but let a smirk creep onto her face.

Sakura nodded still smiling with tears flowing from her eyes and quickly rushed out of the office and stashed the bottle of pills into her pocket. Her shishou did understand after all. Sakura hurried with her shift doing daily rounds to clean bed sheets and check on patients throughout the hospital. She even saw Megumi helping out in the filing room when she asked, "Would you like to help me?" The little girl's face lit up and she scurried over towards Sakura but froze when she looked at Sakura's abdomen and noticed it was flat as a cutting board.

"Did you have your baby already Haruno-san?" Megumi asked innocently, unknowingly causing a sharp pain to shoot through Sakura's chest.

"No sweetheart. That's a long story…" Sakura answered the girl as she turned around gesturing for Megumi to follow her.

Sakura was surprised when the little girl sprang forward and wrapped her arms around Sakura from behind and whispered, "I'm sorry Haruno-san… _please_ don't be sad… I'm sure Sasuke-sensei wouldn't want to see you so sad…"

Sakura was touched by the little girl's plea and did her best to smile as she turned around and asked, "So have you practiced your chakra scalpel the way I showed you?"

"Yes I have!" She shouted smiling.

Megumi had been practicing since Sakura had left the village, and to say Sakura was impressed was an understatement. The girl wasn't as good as Sakura was given the amount of time, but the girl was still so young, and she showed promise. The girl was just like Naruto. She wasn't exactly talented, but she had tenacity, and in the field of medicine that's even more important than natural raw talent. Sakura took Megumi into her first run of the ER. Sakura knew that if anything happened it would be on her head, but she wanted to see how Megumi would do under pressure. When the situation wasn't suturing a topical scrape, but someone's health and possibly their life.

"Are you ready for this?" Sakura asked before she opened the double doors.

It wasn't her shift for ER duty today, but she knew that no one would mind. They never had enough helping hands in there anyway as it was.

Megumi was full of doubt but she knew that if Sakura was ready to take her in there, than she _was_ ready, and she couldn't doubt herself. She had to have more faith in her abilities than Sakura did. She took one deep breath before she nodded. Both girls were donned in scrubs and facial masks with their hair tied in buns. They immediately walked into a world of chaos. Ninjas were constantly being brought in from all kinds of ranked missions with different injuries. The first one Sakura started Megumi off on was one that included a deep laceration to the arm and a broken bone protruding from the leg. Sakura ushered Megumi up to the moaning ninja. And the girl cringed but she immediately activated her chakra scalpel to cut an opening in the leg to reset the bone, and Sakura was impressed that Megumi thought of that. It was actually less painful for the person than resetting the bone with only a minimal puncture wound and pushing it back in. Megumi then followed up by sealing the wound and reinforcing the bone.

"Give me some calcium supplements! Please!" she shouted.

Sakura was confused but ran over to a cabinet and pulled a few out of a bottle and handed them to Megumi who proceeded to infuse them with chakra causing them to take the form of chakra, and she inserted it into the patient's leg making the bone that was reset almost completely healed. Then she proceeded to the laceration on the man's arm.

"You have to move your hand sir! I can't treat your wound when you're trying to cover it up!" The man who was disoriented with pain didn't mean to, but impulsively pushed Megumi as hard as he could. Sakura caught her pupil and then proceeded to restrain the man.

"This is your treatment Megumi, but you can always ask for help" Sakura said smiling underneath her mask.

The girl returned the smile before turning her concentrated gaze back to the cut. It was infected, so Megumi looked around for a sterile waster basin and withdrew some of the water into an orb using her chakra. She sent the water into the man's arm swishing the water around and looking for all the contents of the infection, and when she had found it all she withdrew the water gracefully and sent it into a container of other infectious wastes and turned her attention to suturing the wound. From the looks of it, Megumi concluded that he's sliced his artery. She couldn't stitch it shut by hand, and she was completely out of chakra from healing his leg.

The girl looked desperately up at Sakura and asked, "Please, help me…"

Sakura gave the girl a sympathetic look and called over to another nurse to restrain the man in her place. Sakura walked around to the other side of the hospital bed and told Megumi it was ok for her to not use all her chakra and that she would eventually gain more. She took care of the artery only and let Megumi suture the stitches on the topical wound. She also left the man with two calcium pills to take just to make sure his bone healed correctly. Sakura would have taken Megumi to more patients, but the girl was out of chakra, and there was nothing Sakura could do about that. She decided to call it a day and told Megumi she would find someone to use her chakra scalpel on next time. Sakura was tired as well because after she told Megumi to go home and rest she got sucked into more ER work than she wanted to. Someone was constantly calling out for some kind of help, and Sakura couldn't just ignore them. She was one of the head doctors in the entire facility after all. She and Shizune ran the hospital in Tsunade's place, which took a lot of effort on both their parts. Sakura decided that she was worn out as well, but she didn't want to go home yet. She couldn't help but feel happy about the proposal Sasuke gave last night. She wanted to accept with all her heart, but she had her doubts. She didn't know if Sasuke had simply proposed out of the moment of sorrow together. She didn't know if he really _did_ want to marry her, and who's to say which reason to marry is right or wrong? Sakura didn't know. She just hoped that the peaceful night or sorting paper work away from Sasuke would last a bit longer.

* * *

It was almost midnight and Sakura hadn't returned home. Sasuke wasn't one to worry but he couldn't help but wonder where Sakura had gone off to. Why was she so late? She was usually drowning herself in her work, but she never stayed out too late, she'd just bring a lot of it home to work on. That was the sum total of the living room coffee table, it was completely covered in medical documents and files. He took a seat in a chair by the window that was open in the living room and stared up at a street light that was in the Uchiha compound and let his mind wander. He eventually just went blank and thought of nothing. Then he realized that he'd forgotten an important part of an engagement. He needed a ring. He desperately look around for anything, and then he remembered something important, his mother's ring. He kept it in a separate house in the compound along with any other memmerobelia that belonged to members of his family. He always admired his mother's ring. His father had the diamonds arranged in the shape of the Uchiha crest. Though it was not the colors of the crest since it was diamonds. He found it in a small black box hidden inside a book on a bookshelf, right where he left it. He hadn't touched it in several years, so the box was covered in dust, but when he opened it the ring looked just as shiny and magnificent as it did when his mother wore it. He wouldn't want any other ring for Sakura to wear on her finger. By the time he got home he found Sakura gathering papers on the table in the living room and packing them into a box.

"What are you doing?" he asked hiding the box behind his back.

Sakura was so absent minded that she didn't even realize he was hiding anything behind his back. She was almost zoned out but she answered him.

"I'm taking these back to the office since I finally got around to filing the other million papers on my desk. After I finish these I might actually knock a dent in my paper work."

"Why can't you just leave it and do it here?" he asked.

"Cause I have to file them once I finish them, and I did finish them all, except for two or three."

"Oh. Well… when are you coming back?" he asked with a slight tone of hopefulness underneath his usual uninterested voice.

"Not till much later Sasuke, please. I have to go. Just go to bed, and I'll be home before you wake up I promise."

Sasuke almost felt his heart drop to his feet as he watched her walk out the door and clutched the box he held in his hand and looked over at the dinner he'd been cooking on the stove. He wasn't one to wallow in his own misery, but he didn't want to be alone after what he wanted to do. He was going to butter Sakura up with a homemade dinner and go over plans with her. Plans she wanted for the future, not necessarily marriage, but just to try and figure out what she just _wanted_, her _dreams and hopes_. Sasuke was sure she did have enough on her plate and he knew he was being selfish, but he wanted more of her time than she was willing to give.

"That's it." He said as he set all of the food on the table and pictures of renovations for the house to accommodate a family of four, and went to bed.

As he walked towards the bedroom he said, "She can just admire my effort whenever she decides to come home, I'm done."

And he went to take a hot shower to wash away his bad attitude. It didn't work. He plodded over to the bed and fell back onto it with a huff. He stared at the ceiling for what seemed like hours but when he looked at the clock it'd only been two minutes. There's no way he would have the attention span to stay up and wait for Sakura. He wasn't even sure when the pinkette was going to come home. For the first time he was pouting like a child thinking that it wasn't fair.

"Why is it that she makes me feel like I did when I was a child? Crying, pouting, hoping…"

Sasuke gave up on giving up and sat up with his hands covering his face. He just stared at the clock and hoped that she'd be home soon before his weariness won over and put him to sleep.

* * *

"You're awful, you know that?" came a slurred voice from the door way.

Sakura looked up to see Tsunade leaning against the doorframe with her cheeks nice and red from her drunkenness.

Sakura ran a frustrated hand over her face as she grumbled, "My god… I don't need this right now…"

"Let me tell you something" Tsunade said as she pulled up a chair in front of Sakura's desk and plopped into it trying to assume an authoritative face but failing due to her drunken state, "You're lucky to have not only a man that's in love with you, but one who's not afraid to tell you, and even show you. He's also alive, unlike the man who didn't say anything until it was too late. Take it while it's there, you'll be sorry young lady…" and then Tsunade passed out and feel out of the chair.

Sakura sighed and shook her head and called Shizune on the intercom to come get their drunken Hokage off the floor of her office and take her back to her office to drool on her own papers and not Sakura's. Sakura tried not to let Sakura's words affect her, but when she thought back to how she almost died, she could almost put herself in Sasuke's shoes. It's scary when you think you're loosing the person who means the most to you. It makes you realize you can't take what you have for granted. Sakura looked at the clock, and she didn't realize that it was already 3am. She groaned as she put away the last file and grabbed her tote bag and keys and headed to the front of her office and went out the door after turning off the lights. As she locked the door she didn't pull the key out of the deadbolt. Instead she just looked at the door knob started to drown inside her own world.

"Damn it…" she seethed, "That drunkard is right…"

Sakura just scowled as she crossed her arms and very slowly walked home. She was sure that Sasuke was up waiting if he hadn't called the Anbu forces for her search and rescue already. Sakura was surprised that nothing had really happened. There was always that voice in the back of her head saying, "How is he going to over react and search for you _this_ time?..." Sakura wasn't sure why she didn't feel like no one was looking for her. She even felt like no one was missing her. She even considered crashing at her old apartment, but then she realized that by then the lease was probably over and someone else was living there now. She even thought about crashing in on Ino, but dealing with an 8 month pregnant woman was rather outside her tolerance range. She didn't even know how Shikamaru did it. She thought of Kakashi's, wait no, pervert. She even thought about Naruto, he'd cleaned his place up a bit, but when she thought about it, she realized that not _if_ but _when_ Sasuke found out about it he wasn't going to be happy. With all options exhausted she decided that she would try and creep into the house without anyone hearing her. She wasn't good at hiding her chakra signature, because that's what would wake the Uchiha up more than anything else, is if he sensed an oncoming chakra signature, familiar or not. Sakura was not just surprised by what she saw when she walked into the house, but hurt. She didn't even realize what he was doing, she was too damn caught up in her work. Tsunade was right, she should enjoy Sasuke everyday while he's alive. He's an Anbu after all, they always get sent on S ranked missions that always put their life on the line. Sakura ran her fingers around the rim of each home made dish. He really outdid himself. He made a giant pot of fried rice, he made orange chicken, hong-kong lomein, cashew chicken, egg-fu-yung, and Mongolian beef. Sakura's eyes softened a little as she also looked over to the living room to see a small lamp lit near a desk. She saw that there were pictures of floor plans of a house and two rooms caught her attention. The rooms labeled, 'kid 1' and 'kid 2'. She neatly placed the floor plans back onto the table and then made her way into the kitchen and proceeded to put away all the food that Sasuke had made for the two of them. She felt sad guilty with each scoop she put into the Tupperware. The worst of it was that she had an early shift that started in three hours that she needed to go to which meant no sleep for her, she had to go strait back to the hospital, worst of all it was the ER shift. Sakura figured that lots of water and protein would get her through the day. If she tried to wake up with caffeine or carbohydrates then she'd crash miserably later in the day. But she left a sticky note on the counter for Sasuke after she'd put all the food away. She quickly took a shower and then she read a few medical books and left for work.

* * *

Thanks for reading! Sorry that this took so long! The actually content (not the added notes) came to about 4,100 words! So I hope I supplied you with enough to read for the long wait! I only got to write this because I'm on Thanksgiving break this week!


	17. Cyanide Sweet Tooth Suicide

**Disclaimer:** I DO NOT own Naruto.

So I've been a little busy this winter break and all from school. I've been doing volunteer work in my mom's office, but now it's just turned into kidnapping -_-"

Anyway. I hope that you all enjoy this chapter! I have the next to chapters of my other story all typed up so I'll spend some time on this one now. I also hadn't worked with it in so long that I had to go back and re-read some parts of it to remember. I'm such a horrible author :# FORGIVE ME!

What hoopla, but anyway, PLEASE REMEMBER TO READ AND REVIEW! ^(^0^)^

* * *

Sasuke woke up the second he felt her Chakra signature enter the house, but he didn't want to go see her yet. He decided to just go back to sleep since she was home like she promised she would be. However when Sasuke woke up several hours later he looked over to the other side of the bed and not only were the sheets cold, but untouched. There wasn't a single wrinkle in them.

"What the hell?" he grumbled rubbing his eyes sitting up and looking around, "Did she even come home last night? Or was I hallucinating?"

Sasuke stood up out of bed and stretched yawning while walking towards the kitchen in his boxers. He found that there were open medical texts on the coffee table that weren't there before. He narrowed his eyes with a "tch"

But he got even more upset when he saw a stick note on the counter.

_Sasuke,_

_I know I promised I'd be here before you woke up, and I was. I just had to stay late, and then Tsunade cam into my office drunk, which hindered my work, and now I have to go work an early shift. Don't worry I feel fine. Take care._

_Sakura._

Sasuke clutched the note half angry and half worried. She constantly over worked herself and this was no exception. She was going to pass out if she wasn't careful. It was one thing to get no sleep and just lounge around for two days. It was another to constantly be rushing around with no sleep. Sasuke decided he would wait until something important happened before he took action. Sakura was rushing around the ER and as much as she didn't have time for it, she brought Megumi with her. The little girl was desperate to help her, and for the first hour, she did. After that she simply told Megumi (who was out of chakra) to carry supplies to nurses and doctors and to do clean up as much as she could. There was constantly blood on the floor and walls of all the rooms. It was the ER after all.

"I need assistance!" Sakura yelled as she tried to restrain one man whose chest cavity was open.

Sakura was pretty sure the poor guy was a gonner, there was no way to reseal the chest cavity so she just numbed him so he wasn't in pain in his last moments. Megumi watched the sad scene from the hallway before Sakura walked out and saw the girl's confused reaction.

"Some people are beyond saving" Sakura explained, "So it's better use of your chakra to help them not be in pain then try and uselessly repair the damage while they're in pain and die. It's a hard concept to grasp, but you'll understand some day."

Megumi nodded as the little girl followed Sakura out of the ER. Sakura had a twenty minute break before she had to go back in there and she spent it filing paper work and then slipping some soldier pills in her pocket. She knew she'd need them later, but it was dangerous to use them on a lack of sleep while exerting innumerous amounts of chakra. But she had to get through the day and they had more gruesome near death patients coming in than usual, almost all of them Anbu. She was suspicious to start out with, but as the day went on she planned on making a trip to the godaime before the day was through…

* * *

Sasuke was training with Naruto out on one of the training fields and both were giving it their all. Sasuke enjoyed having Naruto to spar with. He was the only challenging opponent in the village that could help him get stronger. He could just about flatten everyone else. He was starting to get distracted again when the pinkette came to mind. To say he was worried would be an over exaggeration, but he was concerned. The second he lost is focus is the second Naruto landed a solid hit on him in sage mode. Naruto didn't expect Sasuke not to dodge and it was too late for him to pull back the punch. Naruto was upset when Sasuke feel to the ground grinding his teeth in pain. It was obvious that Sasuke's entire right side was damaged. He could see Sasuke's ribcage where Naruto had side swiped him and ripped it open.

"Holy shit teme!" he yelled, "why the hell didn't you _dodge_ that!" he grunted as he slung his friend's arm over his shoulder and poofed them both into the hospital.

Sasuke was taken immediately on a stretcher to the ER and at that point Naruto was confident his friend would be fine. Sakura should be working the ER shift and the only person better than _her_ was Tsunade.

* * *

(Play Sound of Madness by Shinedown)

Sakura was scrambling around from patient to patient and the one she saw next almost made her pass out. There was Sasuke groaning on the hospital bed with blood spilling from his side over the bed and dripping onto the floor.

"Get me blood pills!" she screamed in a shrill pitch she never used.

Her adrenaline was running through her system as she scanned his body for further injuries and nearly lost it. The organs on his entire right side were failing.

"_Fuck_…" she cursed harshly under her breath.

She quickly shoved a blood pill down his throat and then started to patch up his side. The fact that she could see the bones of his ribs and his right lung rising and falling didn't comfort her at all. The worst part was when blood started coming out of his mouth.

"No… no…. no no _no no __**NOOO!**_" she started screaming as tears rolled down her face while trying frantically to pour chakra into his system even faster.

She was alarmed when it was running out and reached for the last soldier pill in her pocket. Sasuke grabbed her wrist scowling before she could get it in her mouth.

"How many of those have you had already?" he hissed while coughing up more blood.

Sakura sneered back at him, "That's irrelevant."

"Are you _trying_ to kill yourself?" he glared at her.

Sakura slapped his wrist and barked, "Shut up and don't move!"

She popped the pill in her mouth and poured as much green chakra into her hands as she could. The chakra was almost visible causing her hair to float around like a gust of wind was blowing up from below her. Sasuke wasn't happy with this at all. She was putting herself in danger. There were plenty of people who could pick up the handy work where she left off. There was no need to keep pushing herself like this. He felt his chest cavity close up, but his organs were still damaged.

"Get him to the sealing room, _now_" she hissed at her completely flabbergasted staff standing in the doorway.

Sakura hardly ever lost her wits treating a patient. However they did as she asked and took him to a dimly lit room and laid him onto the middle of a labyrinth of writing on the floor. The seven other medic-nins took their places around the circle and Sakura immediately walked in tossing scrolls to all of them. She knew this was going to hurt, but it was the only way to save his organs. She knew it was dangerous to keep pouting out this much chakra, but she wasn't going to let him die on her so easily. He looked at her with the blood coming from his mouth like she was crazy.

All the people around the circle made hand signs in unison then smashed their hands down on the scrolls. Each scroll had a separate set of instructions for the different organs. Sakura of course chose the two most important, the lungs and heart. It was hard to endure Sasuke's yelling. He hardly ever gave an obvious sign of being in pain. She knew this must feel like a thousand knives ripping through him, but she had no choice. It was the only way to salvage his damaged organs. As soon as she was done Sasuke was out like a light, and Sakura was _drained_. The nurses took Sasuke to a room to recover and Sakura went to go talk to Naruto who was in the lobby.

"What the hell happened!" she shouted at him leaning against the wall for support breathing incredibly hard.

Naruto looked guilty as he said, "We were sparring."

"We're you trying to _kill_ him!"

"No…" he grumbled, "I expected him to dodge like he always does but he spaced out and I couldn't pull back in enough time. I'm sorry…"

Sakura just wiped a hand over her face before saying, "Never mind I have to go file paperwork and figure out what the hell I'm going to do with you two."

Naruto put a hand on her should after she turned around but before she started walking then said, "You need to go home Sakura, you don't look good."

Sakura brushed his hand off her before hissing, "I'm _fine_."

Naruto backed away defensively like he was agitating a lion before walking out of the hospital. He just wanted to make sure Sasuke was ok.

* * *

"Where's Sakura?" were the only two words the Uchiha kept saying every time someone asked him to do something.

Eventually the staff got tired of trying to get through to him and decided to go get Sakura. However the second the nurse walked out the door she screamed. She saw a collapsed, dilapidated body on the ground with a mop of pink hair.

"She's on the floor!" shouted the nurse.

Sasuke didn't care how many IV's they'd put in his arm, he ripped them out as well as all the other medical equipment they'd attached to him. He sped off down the hallway with his bare feet sliding on the tile when he tried to stop next to her where she was. Instinctively the first thing he checked was her pulse. At first he felt nothing, which scared him but he waited just a bit longer to hear one single beat of her heart.

"Go get Tsunade!" he yelled.

This was bad.

* * *

The godaime didn't waste any time in transporting to the hospital to figure out what the commotion was about. She saw her pupil in a hospital bed Shizune scrambling around. Tsunade saw the EMT machine it was blank for a moment but then Tsunade realized her heart was beating once every ten seconds. Any slower and she'd die.

"She overdosed!" Shizune was shouting, "I can't keep the soldier pills' toxins from spreading through her body! Her heart is slowing down!"

Tsunade scowled before walking over and placing a hand over Sakura's forehead and rushing chakra through her whole system and made it all go to her stomach then initiated a rush of bile causing Sakura to throw it up all over herself.

"That's a little harsh don't you think?" Shizune asked while trying to find clean cloths for Sakura.

"No" Tsunade answered calmly, "The poison was too set in to remove it with water infused with chakra. It would have messed up her circulation and stopped her heart completely. I had to concentrate it to her stomach and make her throw it up. Make sure she doesn't get out of bed and keep every kind of medicine out of her reach. I don't care what it is."

Shizune nodded then bowed before Tsunade walked out of the room. The godaime planned on having a little 'chat' with that work-a-holic knew there was nothing he could do for her other than carry her to a hospital bed and hope Shizune could keep her alive until Tsunade arrived. No doubt that she'd overdosed on the soldier pills. That was dangerous, and very hard to fix. Sasuke was unable to stay in her room though. Shizune threatened him and made him go back to his own room. He still needed some healing on his chest cavity as well as gastro-pills to help his severely damaged intestines.

When night fell however, he couldn't stop himself from wandering to her room and crawling in the hospital bed with her. She had an oxygen mask on as well as an EMT and other equipment. Sasuke saw how slow her heart beat was, but he was glad she was still alive, even if it was barely. He didn't expect anything to happen, but he touched her face softly and ghosted over her skin. It was still soft despite the way she worked herself ragged. But he jumped because the second he touched her skin her heart beat sped up to normal. He heard the beeping and then chuckled to himself. He guessed that she was familiar with his touch, and was still excited by it. Even though she would deny it, the EMT didn't lie.

* * *

HOPE YOU LIKED THIS! TOTAL DRAMA HOOPLA!  
anyways. I probably won't end this one for several more chapter sadly. My other one is turning out that way to. I just can't think of a fitting ending that isn't "stereo-typical" if I may say so.

But PLEASE REMEMBER TO READ AND REVIEW! ^(^0^)^


	18. Final Answer

**Disclaimer:** I DO NOT own Naruto.

So basically I've been trying as hard as I can to spend as much of the rest of my break as possible to write ahead in this and my other story! I've literally stopped ALL my other side project stories and solely focused on this. I even stopped my Japanese language learning! (I learn independently with self-bought materials). Anyway. I hope you all appreciate my dedication and enjoy reading this next chapter! Please try to be patient with me!

PLEASE REMEMBER TO READ AND REVIEW! ^(^0^)^

* * *

Sakura woke up found the godaime sitting in her room. She could've sworn someone was touching her face though. Her skin felt heated like some kind of reaction. However Sakura's wandering thoughts were short lived as the angry blond confidently took her time walking up to her pupil and assertively got right in her face.

"Don't you, _ever_, use soldier pills that way _again_…" Tsunade said stoically before grabbing Sakura and pulling her into a hug, "If I was there even ten minutes later it would've been to late. The poison had progressed so badly that I had to make you vomit. As a medic you know just how bad that is…"

"But Sasuke…" she whispered tiredly.

"What?"

"He was… dying…"

Tsunade just sighed, not much she could do to reprimand her about that. Sakura obviously had a strong calling when it came to her, and no one could stop her once she lost it on something, including saving people's lives.

A throat clearing in the doorway caught both of their attentions, "I have to report something to Sasuke, where is he?"

"Down the hall second door on the right" Tsunade said uninterested forgetting the Uchiha had already checked himself out.

"_Report something? Since when did Kakashi start taking orders from Sasuke?... and what's it about?…"_

Sakura kept looking quizzically at the doorway where her sensei was standing a minute ago before turning her attention back to Tsunade.

A

Sasuke was discharged early that morning and decided to spend the remainder of it at home resting and then he would pick up Sakura later in the afternoon when she would probably be awake. Sasuke put his watch and other items on the night stand and laid on his back on the bed before turning to Sakura's side where she slept. He expected to really not see anything interesting but a bottle on her nightstand caught his attention immediately since it hadn't been there before. He rolled and reached over to grab the bottle and read the label then smirked to himself. He knew she wasn't about to give up. Which reminded him that he needed to get a solid answer about the proposal from Sakura. He wasn't going to have his child be a bastard. Neither he nor Sakura wanted a ceremony for their wedding; both of them had talked about that. He simply just wanted her, and she just wanted him. How he felt it should be. He didn't understand the glitzy shows most girls put on at their weddings, it was all for one day, and they spent a fortune on it. The money wasn't a problem for Sasuke it was just the annoyance of it all.

He eventually left the house to go get Sakura from the hospital, but he had no idea where he was going to take her as he put the ring in its case in his back pocket. He wanted to take her somewhere special, but where? He decided he'd cross that bridge when he came to it, for now he wanted to just pick her up. When he walked into the hospital it was utter chaos without Sakura in charge. Now he understood why she hardly ever left. The staff was a mess without her. He wound his way down a few hallways to where he remembered her room was but was stopped in the hallway with a "yo."

He looked over to see Kakashi, the man looked serious as he said, "We need to talk."

Sasuke looked over his shoulder at Sakura's hospital room, he was so close.

"Can't this wait?" he asked.

"No." Kakashi stated bluntly as he snapped his fingers and both transported to the roof leaving behind puffs of smoke.

* * *

"Huh?" Sakura jumped a little as she looked at the doorway thinking someone was there.

Tsunade knew what she jumped at she felt it too. Sasuke's chakra signature was there and then vanished just as quickly. She got up out of the bed ignoring Tsunade's reprimands and peaked out the doorway down both ends of the hall. Nothing. She figured that she would just wait for Sasuke to come back and get her, now that she knew he was here.

* * *

"Spill" was Sasuke's command as he looked at Kakashi.

Both men wore serious expressions as Kakashi stated, "It's Madara."

Sasuke growled, "So he's still alive?"

Kakashi sighed before explaining, "I heard from some of his spies I located and interrogated that he wants to manipulate the Uchiha clan into what _he_ wants, and he's going to do it with _your_ child."

Sasuke felt his fists shaking at his sides before hissing, "Over my dead body."

"He's actually arranging that as we speak, so I suggest you and Sakura lay low somewhere."

"I will _not_ hide" Sasuke grunted audibly letting his pride get the best of him.

Kakashi just let out another hopeless sigh before trying to persuade him, "Be logical, please. What good are you to Sakura dead? You want her to shrivel up and die from depression? With your newborn child who will never reach his full potential cause he doesn't have a father to teach him how to use his kekkegenkai? Not to mention Madara will still be after them both, whether or not you're alive. Who will protect them? Think it through Sasuke. It's not just about your pride, think of those _involved _in all of this."

Sasuke just ground his teeth looking down in anger and defeat. He knew that he couldn't die on Sakura; he saw how she got when he _almost_ died just the other day. He didn't want to see her if he actually did die.

"Move out of Konoha before the end of the year. Take whomever you wish with you. Tsunade will tell you your arrangements. She's sending messenger hawks with coded messages as we speak."

Sasuke continued to indulge in his silence as Kakashi continued, "One more thing, you can use Sakura's last name, but _don't_ use _yours_. I don't think I need to explain why."

Sasuke just kept glaring at Kakashi. He didn't want to move out of the land of fire and go into 'hiding'. It went against everything he stood for.

* * *

"Let's go" Sasuke said leaning against the doorframe of Sakura's hospital room.

She was happy to see him, but not his stereotypical arrogant Uchiha attitude he brought along with him. She just rolled her eyes as she unhooked all the medical equipment and (properly) pulled out her IV and changed out of her hospital gown into her cloths. Sasuke of course closed the door when she did that. After she was done they both walked out and left the hospital. It was bordering on late afternoon when the two were wandering the streets.

"Where do you want to eat dinner?" he asked her hoping that his voice didn't betray him and show his nerves wracking a little.

Sakura was so tired that she didn't notice his voice portraying slight emotion in it and answered, "Anywhere is fine."

Sasuke just shrugged and took her out to bar-b-q. It was the "grill it yourself" place. They sat across from each other and Sasuke could tell Sakura was in a hazy, uninterested state and wondered if tonight was really a good time, but he didn't have a choice. He needed to get all the paperwork done before they had to move out of the country in just a few months. Sasuke was going to wait another month before he would tell her, he hoped. Naruto was informed, but no one else, especially that blabbermouth Ino.

"Are you ok?" Sakura asked after she started taking Sasuke's meat off the grill for him because it was burning due to his lack of attention.

He went from staring into space to staring at Sakura a few seconds before he said, "Hn."

Sakura just narrowed her eyes at him before saying, "If you want to talk to me, use real words."

Sasuke just smirked before eating his meal. After the two were done he stole the tab and paid for both of them. Sakura didn't really protest, but she thanked him too. They walked out of the restaurant hand-in-hand as Sasuke led the way down the dark city sidewalk. It was nice, there was a waning crescent moon, and there were thousands of stars in the sky.

"_So they want to watch too…" _Sasuke thought to himself looking up at the nebulae and galaxies hovering above their heads.

Sakura gave his hand a slight squeeze, which made him turn his attention from the sky to the smile she had on her face, "We've never really formally gone out somewhere? Have we?"

Sasuke smirked saying, "Guess not."

He led her to an all too familiar place. The lake. The dock where he told her it was ok to be scared, because he was there for her. He also remembered that's where he tackled her in the mud and told her how he wasn't kidding about the way he felt. He wasn't leaving her. He still meant it. Whenever she was sad, he would come here, and _he_ would find her.

"So many memories…" Sakura mused as she walked towards the end of the dock looking at the moon on the water.

"Mind if I add one more?" Sasuke asked as he kneeled behind her.

She turned around and was about to ask what he meant by that when she suddenly saw Sasuke on one knee saying, "I want your answer already, will you marry me?"

Sakura smiled a little and wanted to laugh. Every girl would dream of being proposed to _twice_ by the hunky prodigy, but none of them would expect a proposal with so much attitude. Sakura still hadn't mulled it over, but when she thought about it, she really couldn't see herself with anyone else. On top of that she looked back over all the times he'd proven just how much she meant to him. Whether it was through his over-protectiveness or even his cutting her slack. He was always there with the words she needed, no matter how vague they were. In dangerous situations he was there to protect her. When things seemed hopeless and death was knocking at the door of her subconscious, he would swoop down and save her. When she thought about it, she really did owe him _everything_.

"Yes" she said with a half smile trying not to cry, "I _will_ marry you."

Sasuke wasted no time in digging the box with the ring out of his pocket and tossing it to her. Sakura huffed, he really knew how to kill the moment, but when she opened the box she was breathless.

"Sasuke" she gasped, "_Where_ did you get this!"

"I found it" He replied walking to the edge of the dock to see the moon reflect off the water and bounce up and light his face.

Sakura walked over to him quickly then retorted, "Rings aren't just _found_ Sasuke. Who did you hire to make this?"

Sasuke looked at her with his usual stoic face then said, "Like I said, I found it."

But before she could say anything else he cut her off by finishing his statement, "In my mother's belongings I kept."

Sakura was even more apprehensive about the ring. How could she wear something so precious? His _mother's_ ring! Why on earth did he choose to give it to _her_? He could have paid good money to have one exactly like it made, but to give her something so sentimental to him, even if his rough and cold exterior and foul attitude suggested otherwise. She knew without a doubt that this ring probably stored so many memories for him since he was so close to his mother and not his father.

"Wear it" he told her finally as he sat down on the edge of the dock to stick his feet in the water.

Sakura sat next to him careful not to drop the ring box and handed it to him, "You do it."

Sasuke looked at her with a blank face as he took the box, but she knew better. His eyes twinkled with an expression akin to 'are you kidding me?'. He just huffed a little then took the ring out of the box and slowly slid it onto her left hand's ring finger. It was now official, she was _his_.

"One more thing" he told her, "That's infused with a jutsu and my chakra."

She looked at him confused as he leaned back on his elbows on the dock, feet in the water. He could tell that she didn't understand.

"I'll clarify" He said monotonously, "Not only can that ring never be taken off by anyone other than _me_, but You're now apart of my subconscious, and I to yours. We're _connected_, do you understand?"

She nodded then scowled, "I've heard of this jutsu before. It's an ancient law in Konoha that men can own women and controlled them with jewelry. Are you going to control me too?"

Sasuke smirked, "I just might if you tempt me. But I'm not buying you, I'm marrying you. There's a _difference_."

"How so?" She asked frowning trying to take the ring off.

"A man doesn't treat his wife like a piece of property."

She just scowled at him as he continued, "He guards her like a precious treasure."

Then she stopped trying to take the ring off and looked at him with a blank face. Did that really just come out of his mouth? Uchiha Sasuke, ultimate male supremacist? Saying that a woman is _treasure_? She knew that the way he treated her wasn't like property, but just like everyone else he had his moments where he_ did_ happen to treat her as such.

"Let's go home," he said as he helped her up.

* * *

That's all for now folks!

PLEASE REVIEW!

I really enjoyed writing this and after this three day weekend is over (cause Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day) I probably won't be consistent with updates. School is literally taking _all_ my energy right now…

Anyways, toodlz!


	19. Facing What's Ahead

**Disclaimer: **I DO NOT own Naruto.

SOOOooooo. I noticed that some of you knew I was referencing "Laying Claim" in my last chapter with Sasuke infusing his chakra into the ring and connecting the two of them. I really did love that story and I hope that author continues their fine work! However, I wanted to assimilate it into my story because it's going to play a crucial role later on, HOWEVER the actual story Laying Claim is not mine, my plot line with this particular 'ability' is much different, so I'm not ripping off her story, I'm just using a concept she created. I actually am planning the closing to this epic love and life saga. There will be no sequel. Sorry. I have too many fresh ideas to drag this one out longer than what's necessary. However the end is several chapters off, so fear not!

Also I know I haven't been updating this particular story as much as I'd like to. For one thing, taking a lot of time to write these has let me focus A LOT on my schoolwork. I basically have no social life during the school year so yeah, but my lowest grade is an 87. I also have two 100 averages in two of my core classes. We're a month into the semester, so I'm ecstatic, I've never had grades this good that have lasted this long! SO HAPPY! Anyway. I would like to apologize to those who have been suffering the lack of story to read. Also, I might not get as much time during the summer to write as I'd like, because I'm going to be taking summer school classes, (probably) NOT cause I'm planning to fail, but because I have to take health and P.E. I won't be able to schedule it in during the regular school year due to my bizarre schedule with my extra core class! I'm sorry in advance!

(Hopefully I can finish this thing BEFORE the summer that would be ideal!)

* * *

Sasuke woke up and went into the kitchen and made himself a cup of coffee one morning. He noticed that Sakura was still there when he got up, which meant that she was probably off duty for the day. He wasn't sure how he wanted to spend it though. Training? Maybe. But he was too afraid he'd hurt her. He wasn't afraid to admit that he was stronger and more powerful than her. His only _true_ sparing partner could be Naruto. He'd unintentionally mop the floor with anyone else. He couldn't explain it, but he had this pulsating tumorous itch to go watch Sakura sleeping. But he blew the thought away at being perceived as a creep. Instead he decided to make some breakfast for the two of them. She had just as many male mannerisms as him, because she would always wake up to the smell of food in the morning. He smirked, as thoughts of Sakura plodding down the stairs rubbing her eyes with her stomach growling ran through his head.

Just as he predicted the lethargic pinkette slowly lobed down the stairs when the smell of eggs and bacon had permeated into the upstairs room. She slowly slugged towards Sasuke who was still standing by the stove and turning all the burners off and dished up breakfast. It was rather quiet seeing that Sakura wasn't quite awake yet.

"Shower?" Sasuke asked with a brow raised after they'd finished breakfast and had put their dishes in the sink.

Sakura sleepily nodded as she slowly drudged back up to the bedroom with Sasuke behind her with a hand on her lower back to keep her from falling backwards. Sasuke scotched past her in the doorway into the room and put some stuff out of his pockets and onto his nightstand before throwing all his cloths into the laundry hamper. Sakura was messier and just threw her cloths on the bathroom floor before jumping into the large glass door shower. Sasuke was close behind her after throwing her cloths into the laundry for her. He wasn't charitable like that, but he was neat freak.

The hot water ran over Sakura's shoulders seemingly slow as she felt like melting into the tiles under her feet. Her eyes drooped shut and her mouth relaxed, partially opened. Sasuke could tell she wasn't waking up, but falling asleep from the warmth. After quickly brushing his teeth he hoped into the shower. Sakura didn't even realize his presence in the bathroom until she felt a new warmth directly behind her. The skin on skin contact startled her at first. It had been a while since they'd done this together it seemed like. But after a few moments she easily relaxed and leaned back while a pair of arms reached in front of her to the hanging shower rack to grab some shower gel and a luffa. He gently scrubbed her skin with the sud-covered mesh and then while supporting her with one arm washed himself off. Sakura was started to slide down towards the floor, as the warm melting feeling got even stronger. Sasuke was quick to melt to the ground with her in order to keep her from falling or hurting herself. But dropped the luffa and held onto her instead. The water continued to flow and wash the rest of the soap and shampoo suds away down the drain. Sasuke was starting to feel the side effects of the skin on skin contact, as well as seeing a full view of Sakura "all-naturál." Not being a fan of sex in the shower, he knew he had to finish this business up quick. He turned the water off and helped Sakura off the slippery wet tiles onto the bathroom rug outside the shower doors. They both dried off, Sasuke rather quickly and impatiently. Sakura didn't even notice the appendage between his legs starting to rise as if yeast had been added to bread.

Sakura only noticed when she walked into the room, still stark naked and reached for the door of one of her dresser doors. Her efforts were thwarted as Sasuke's hand firmly, but not harshly, grabbed her wrist and pulled her to him. With one fell swoop he placed the other hand on her bare lower back and smashed his lips to hers. At first she was as stiff as a dried twig, but she soon melted into his embrace as she did the warm shower water. He eventually let go of her wrist and placed that hand on the back of her neck and she wrapped her arms around his neck. Uchiha's had a talent for kissing women senseless, and Sasuke was no exception. He knew the second he had full control when Sakura was starting to slide down his body like butter. She was gone in the sea of anticipation and ecstasy. Sasuke ingeniously maneuvered them over to the bed and gently laid her down with him on top. He gently placed kisses down from her forehead to her cheeks, jaw, neck, then down to the valley of her breast and made his way to the teat on the end of one of her mounds. Her back arched as his tongue made circles and a moan ghosted out of her mouth as his tongue flicked it and made his way over to the other mound. She tangled her fingers in this raven locks, pulling his face closer to her skin, in an attempt intensify the feeling. Her legs naturally wound around him as she tried to lift herself off the mattress and slide down on him.

"Not yet" he growled sultrily as he untangled her legs and continued his magic on her neck, leaving several love bites in his wake of sexual desire.

He knew that she was wet enough, but he wanted to hear her _beg_ for him. As her face flushed red with all of his ministrations he knew that time was nearing. He flipped them putting her on top and held her hips aligned above his pulsing member.

"Beg" he told her with a frustrated grunt.

Sakura's eyes were glazed over with sultry desire, but she refused to surrender as she said, "No." with a gasp.

Sasuke smirked as he flipped back on top of her, ghosted his lips from her neck everywhere all over her body down to her seeping entrance. He kissed her clit and hummed a "hn" of approval as she moaned and bit her lip from showing her weakness.

"How about now" he growled into her sensitive pocket.

Sakura tossed and turned her head with her eyes jammed shut whimpering, "No… please no… I won't… stop it…"

Sasuke continued and even began to run his tongue around her cunt slowly and painfully causing her to fidget underneath him. He then looked up and saw her walls beginning to crumble.

He lifted his face back up to hers while running lips over her ear whispering, "How about now?"

"ummmmph" was the only noise she made tossing and turning her head biting her lower lip.

Sasuke wasn't about to give up this easily and flipped her onto her hands and knees. He poked at her entrance while having one hand massage a mound while running a finger over a nipple, he also had one hand rubbing her lower sensitive regions and blew hot breath on the back of her ear.

Once he realized that she was shaking from want and anticipation he asked again, "Now?"

Sakura nodded, but Sasuke ordered, "Say it."

"Yes!" she moaned out.

"Yes what?"

"Yes do it!"

"Do what?" he asked.

At this point he was just teasing her to see how far she would go, but he really did want to hear what she wanted him to do.

"Plunge inside of me!" She growled sexually frustrated.

"Much obliged," Sasuke grunted back into her ear as he started slamming into her.

Since Sasuke was getting almost every single one of her sweet spots (boobs, clit, neck, and g-spot) it wasn't long until she exploded and her walls contracted around him causing Sasuke to go along with her. Both collapsed on the bed exhausted. It had been quite a while since they'd had sex, and Sasuke had to admit that he missed it. However Sakura, he wasn't so sure. She never seemed it initiate it anymore, but considering she was relatively easy to seduce, he wasn't complaining.

Sasuke could visibly tell that he's worn the poor pinkette back out again, even if it _was _worth it. He wanted to spend some quality time with her before breaking the news to her that they were moving, as well as getting married through a marriage contact right before they left, but he supposed she could sleep until then. He simply watched her lying next to her until he could easily tell that she was fast asleep.

* * *

Naruto was supposing that he ought to go visit Sasuke, seeing that they were leaving in a month and he wasn't even sure where exactly they were headed. The blond quickly made his way down the street. When he walked inside he looked away red faced at the sight of Sasuke in a bath towel.

"Did I interrupt anything?" He asked sheepishly scratching the back of his head.

"No" came Sasuke's simple reply, "We just finished."

"Oh." Naruto said even more red face.

Sasuke stopped his rummaging through the kitchen to turn and face Naruto before asking, "Is there something you wanted?"

Naruto looked to his bottom right while muttering, "Well I was wondering when you two were going to leave Konoha so I could get ready in time…"

At that moment Sasuke's head shot towards the stairs and low and behold the pinkette was standing there in her own robe with eyes wide. Sasuke made a "tch" noise of frustration as he stepped towards the stairs but stopped himself, as she saw Sakura taking an equal length step back. Sasuke wasn't sure what he was supposed to do, but he knew that he couldn't take a chance on her escaping the house, he would have to hunt her down like he's done before several times.

"I'll talk to you later" he said to Naruto in a tone that suggest, 'seriously, get out.'

Naruto just back away slowly at the palpable tension between his other two teammates. It was best to just leave some things alone, even Naruto understood that philosophy and left.

"Sakura" came Sasuke's calm tone with undertones of pleading, "Please just listen…"

Sakura stood frozen for a few seconds more before bolting for the bedroom, Sasuke in close pursuit. He was able to grab the edge of her bathrobe just as she was about to jump out of the window. Sakura was uncomfortably teetering on the edge of the window seal over the ghost town Uchiha district, however their window being on the second floor was easily visible from outside the Uchiha compound walls.

"Jump I dare you" came Sasuke's cool and collected voice now knowing he had full control of the situation.

Sakura backed down slowly from the window seal wiping the sweat from her brow that had been brought on by the anxiety of almost jumping out a window naked. Sasuke grabbed the back of her robe and somewhat gently pushed her over to the bed and made her sit on the edge and he kneeled in front of her.

"Please try to understand…" came his husky voice with hints of hidden uncertainty, "It's too dangerous for us to stay here in Konoha where we can easily be found…"

"But you can protect me!" Sakura protested desperately.

Sasuke waved a hand in front of her face to cut her off, "Sometimes it's wiser to avoid a fight, besides, it's easier to protect you if we hide than if we're just out in the open. Also, how easy do you think it will be to protect our future child in this type of situation?"

Sakura began to cry as she retorted, "Then I won't have children!"

"We both know that won't work" Sasuke said shaking his head wiping a few of her tears away as he cupped her face in his hands, "It's not practical, plus, I still need to protect you, and myself."

"Why is protecting yourself hard?" She asked in disbelief at what he was saying.

Sasuke looked down at the floor as he calmly explained, "Even _my_ abilities have limits Sakura. I have a bad feeling about who we're up against. I've had Kakashi doing reconnaissance on this 'Madara' person and I haven't found a single weakness, flow, advantage, or anything that could possibly help me defeat him. It's bothering… and it's better to hide from the opponent until more is found out then the trudge head first like I almost did and think you can win."

Sakura nodded still pouring tears from her eyes. She wasn't ready to leave everything she'd ever know. She loved Konoha and she loved everyone in it. Her job as a head nurse at the hospital put her in a position to know several villagers and tightly connect her with everyone as if she were the Hokage. However she knew that if she left Konoha she would have to start all over, she would only know Sasuke, and would probably become a recluse out of fear of being in new surroundings under a pretext of hiding to save her life. No one wanted that.

"Lighten up" Sasuke said as he walked over to the other side of the room and tossed a box of tissues at her then leaning on the wall with his arms crossed, "It's not like we're going to be alone. Everyone else is coming too."

Sakura looked up in disbelief as she asked, "How can Tsunade afford to send that many anbus?"

"Because she cares about you _that_ much…" was Sasuke simple yet truthful reply.

The two had a moment of silence as Sakura dried the rest of her tears quickly at the prospect of not truly being alone.

"What's the plan?" Sakura asked as she set the tissue box on the nightstand of the bed and rubbed her eyes.

Sasuke got up from leaning on the wall and walked back over to her a pulled a scroll out of his dresser drawer and handed it to her. Sakura opened the scroll and her eyes widened a little. It was a marriage contract. She wasn't sure exactly why they were just signing a contract and nothing else, but it was Sasuke, and she didn't want a frilly ceremony either since they'd been living together for a while there wouldn't really be anything "magical" about it. She bit her thumb and spread the blood on her fingers the slammed them down onto a box outline on the scroll and rolled it back up and handed it to Sasuke. Shinobi marriage contracts were a lot like summoning contracts the way that they were signed, but you couldn't summon each other like an animal summoning contract. After Sakura handed it back to Sasuke, he tied a gold tassel around it then put it inside of a messenger hawk holder and sent it to the Hokage tower to be archived. They were officially married. The only dreaded occurrence to plan now was the move to the land of the crescent moon.

* * *

Well I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Sorry It's a little on the short side I was rushing to update since I haven't for a while! I hope you all enjoy this chapter! PLEASE READ AND REVIEW EVERYONE! LOVE YOU! I hope you are having a wonderful early spring! :)


	20. The Curtains Have to Match the Drapes

**Disclaimer: **I DO NOT own Naruto.

So basically school's been beyond a pain in the ass and now I'm mad because I had a 100 average in history and now I don't anymore, because I got a 90 on a quiz. I cried. Anyways, I had a few spare moments since I didn't have homework today so I decided to grace you with the most wonderful chapter of fine literature.

* * *

Sakura was going through a list of things they'd sent over time to their new home in the land of Crescent Moon. If they moved in one giant swoop, then it would certainly look suspicious to any spies Madara may have planted in or around the village. Other than the participants in the moving process, only the Hokage and Kakashi knew of the mission. It wasn't leaked at all to the public, and the Hokage was sure to keep it that way. She said the first person to say a word would have to answer to Ibiki, which was more than enough to keep them on their toes not to run their mouths. Sasuke and Sakura had about everything emptied out of the house, they were even sleeping on a hammock they hung in the master bedroom. The kitchen was next to barren; Sakura went to the store every mealtime to keep from storing food in the house. Eventually an evening or two after everything had been moved, everyone assembled in the Hokage's office. It was established that departure time would be the next morning at "o-five hundred" (5AM).

* * *

Ino, Shikamaru, Hinata, Neji, Ten-Ten, Naruto, Lee, Shino, Kiba, Chouji, Sai, Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto all met at the city gates of Konoha to bid their farewells. They all stood in silence for nearly half an hour, waiting for the time to strike 5am.

"Sayonara" Naruto whispered quietly as they all leapt up into the trees and started off for a two-day journey to the land of the crescent moon.

"What was this place like?" Sasuke asked with a monotonous voice laced with just a tad of boredom.

Naruto smirked then said, "That's right you weren't there with us!"

"And?"

"So _you_ don't know what happened!"

"That's why you're supposed to tell me…"

Naruto's smirk turned to something resembling a scowl at Sasuke's misconception of his humor, "We basically saved a prince and his son who eventually became king. The land of Crescent Moon is one big resort with beautiful beaches and numerous casinos."

"Sounds awful" Sasuke mumbled not excited in the least.

A resort type country meant tourists constantly, crowded conditions, and loafing around in a resort wasn't what he deemed as fun. Where as he knew the rest of them were looking forward to an indefinite vacation, except for maybe Neji and Shino. The rest of them were loafers as far as Sasuke was concerned.

* * *

Camp was made exactly half way towards their destination. Sasuke predicted that they'd be there about this same time tomorrow, however his attention wasn't focused on that, it was on Sakura. She was exhausted and he'd carried her half of the way because she kept lagging behind. Everyone was sure that she was sick with something that was just affecting her temporarily. Ino made some medicinal tea for her to drink that would help her sleep better and make her feel, hopefully, more rested tomorrow. After Ino left the tent in which Sakura was fast asleep, Sasuke stood in front of the blond with his arms crossed and an expression of concern and annoyance on his face.

"I think she's pregnant." Sasuke grunted looking off into the distance to his left.

Ino shrugged, she was thinking that too, but it was still too early to tell. It was a miracle Ino was able to tell what it was last time. They both just decided that they'd leave it alone and let Sasuke carry her for the rest of the journey, he didn't particularly mind since Naruto offered to carry his bag since he was carrying the pinkette. No one else really had any ideas about what was wrong with her except for those two anyway.

Sasuke crept inside the tent with Sakura after he'd finished his conversation with Ino. He couldn't help but carefully watch Sakura with his Sharingan in an attempt to discover any kind of truth behind her illness. After seeing her still and sleeping form unchanged for several minutes he gave up and lied down next to her. It was no surprise that in her sleep she sensed the source of heat next to her and tossed herself on her side facing him, swinging her arm over his chest and one of her legs over his. Sasuke smirked with his hands behind his head staring at the ceiling of the tent. Tomorrow he'd be in his new 'indefinite' home. It was established that communication would only take place between Tsunade and Sasuke, in order to avoid confusion. Sasuke kept wondering about the land of Crescent Moon. He'd only been there once, and considering his old rouge ninja circumstances, he didn't like it too much.

* * *

Bright and early the next morning they were all on their feet before the sun rose, of course Sakura was the last to rise, throwing up on her way out of the tent. Sasuke just quirked a brow at her awful symptoms. It was just like last time, except no one was able to tell, he couldn't even see with his Sharingan. The only way he'd ever find out is if he made her see a doctor, but he wasn't going to tell her that and get her hopes up about possibly being pregnant.

"My pills!" Sakura screeched as she shuffled through her backpack to find them, but to no avail.

Sasuke looked over his shoulder grunting, "You don't need them."

"Of course I do!" She shouted, "What am I going to do without them?"

Sasuke had a pulsing vain on his forehead he couldn't take too terribly much more of this, "You shouldn't take them while your sick anyway, I can always have Tsunade send you some more…."

Sasuke used that as a cover up since he was the one who actually took her pills. He didn't want them harming what could possibly be inside her, it wouldn't do her any harm not to take them anyway, so he didn't see any reasons why not.

As everyone lined up Sasuke handed his bag to Naruto and the blond nonchalantly carried it with his own then Sasuke walked over to the pinkette and squatted in front of her with his arms behind him.

"Get on" he coolly mumbled.

Sakura crossed her arms scowling as she seethed, "I don't need to be babied the whole way there I'm _fine_."

Sasuke growled in frustration then activated his Sharingan and the blades started spinning. He looked over his shoulder right into her eyes and Sakura immediately collapsed onto his back.

"She should be out a while…" he said emotionlessly as he stood up and started walking up to the others.

Everyone was wide eyed at Sasuke's actions, since you normally don't use an incapacitating jutsu on an ally.

"W-was that r-really necessary?..." Hinata stuttered in slight fear of the Uchiha's warped disgression.

The raven haired man shrugged as he stated, "If I hadn't we'd still be standing here fighting, besides, it doesn't hurt her, I promise."

Everyone just looked at each other and huffed before jumping into the trees following him on the way to the land of Crescent Moon. It was a rather silent journey on the way there other than Sakura's occasional murmuring in her sleep. Ino was really nervous of Sasuke possibly harming Sakura's hypothetical unborn child by knocking her out like that, but Ino knew that he was right, she would've tried to go the rest of the way there on her own energy and that was potentially even more dangerous. She could pass out on the way there and misstep and fall and severely hurt herself. Although Ino knew she was just overanalyzing everything and let her mind wander to endless days on golden sun and sand with pochinko constantly at her disposal. She almost lost her footing thinking about it. Everyone else was almost the same way and Sasuke rolled his eyes at the loafers, Neji, Shikamaru, and Shino did much of the same with their huffs of annoyance at everyone else.

Once the group arrived there it was around dinnertime, and Sasuke already knew where their house was, he'd seen it in pictures that the realtors had sent him. It was the third biggest house on the whole damn island. Though it was supposed to be a stealth mission and stay hidden Sasuke was used to living in large, luxury houses, so he didn't want anything less. He could've gotten the second largest house, but Tsunade told him to dial it down a notch since spies would be _looking_ for an Uchiha, a family of wealth.

Sasuke found the house in perfect order when he walked in, and he set Sakura down on the upstairs bed and closed the curtains to cover the light coming in from the windows behind the bed's headboard then left.

* * *

The other's were meeting at the citizen's registration desk in order to receive their new ID's as resident's of Crescent Moon. Sasuke skipped to the front of the line like his arrogant self in front of all his teammates to a counter that said "reservations."

He walked up to the lady and said, "Mr. and Mrs. Haruno please."

The lady shuffled through some papers and pulled out two licenses and handed them to Sasuke saying, "Thank you and have a nice day."

Sasuke nodded and took the cards then walked away while everyone else left their mouths open to the ground.

"You didn't check and submit ID info before we left? For shame." Sasuke said sardonically then walked away back towards the house.

He wasn't very keen on leaving Sakura by herself for very long since she was due to wake up and minute.

* * *

Sasuke walked into the house to find the pinkette still passed out on the bed and started to worry that he used too much force in knocking her out. He decided that he'd go ahead and bathe her so he discarded her cloths into the laundry hamper and picked her up carefully and set her into the cold empty tub then turned the faucet and let warm water fill the tub slowly. He turned it off once it was full and then leaned back against the cupboards by the bath with on leg bent and one strait with his arms crossed. Eventually he felt the pains of exhaustion for lack of sleep the night before due to Sakura's condition. He'd wait for her to wake up then take her to the doctor. What he didn't expect was, he'd fallen asleep.

* * *

Sakura awoke slowly surrounded by warmth, what she wasn't ready for was surroundings completely different from what she was used to. She eventually figured out that it was their knew home and not some foreign place, due to the fact that Sasuke was surprisingly sound asleep right near the bathtub. She wasn't sure about what she should do, but she decided the first thing in order was to wake Sasuke up. She gently took her arm out of the warm water and placed her hand on Sasuke's leg slightly shaking him. She soon realized it was a mistake. He immediately woke with a start and had, on protective impulse, pulled her out of the tub and hovered over her but then breathed a sigh at the realization that it was only Sakura.

"Oh good" he said, "You're awake. Now we can go to the doctor."

"The doctor?" she asked almost in disgust, "I _am_ a doctor!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes before retorting, "Oh really? Then what's the diagnosis, doctor?"

He said the word "doctor" with almost an undertone of malice. Sakura picked up easily on the sarcasm and made her way towards the bathroom door.

"You might want a towel" he told her dangling it in her face.

Sakura scoffed before saying, "_Please_! I'm in my own home. I couldn't care _less_."

However as soon as she opened the door she ate those words. Because low and behold, sitting on the foot of the bed, was a red-faced Naruto. Sakura shrieked and slammed the bathroom door Her fists were clenched at her sides and she couldn't even muster the nerve to turn around and look at the Uchiha.

"I told you so" came his daring sarcastic tone.

"Give it" she hissed harshly as she whipped around and swung her arm for the towel.

"You're slow" he teased her, not letting her get close to the towel.

Sakura let out a growl of frustration before snapping, "and _you're_ just a _jerk_!"

Sasuke stopped and scowled at her before saying, "Agree to go to the doctor's with me and you can have the towel."

"Whatever" she grumbled as she swiped the absorbent material out of the raven-haired man's hands.

Sasuke smirked triumphantly as Sakura wrapped the towel around her. By the time the two walked into the bedroom Naruto was sputtering excuses, but Sasuke just waved his hand, it was mostly Sakura's fault. Sasuke and Naruto were about to leave the room when Sasuke turned to look over his shoulder.

"Be sure to dye your hair before I get back. Pink hair is rather easy to spot. We don't want to be attracting unwanted attention."

Sakura rolled her eyes. She didn't even know what color to dye it. She wasn't going to dye it black because it would look completely unnatural on her due to her brighter colored, emerald eyes. God she needed Ino. Sakura then realized that Ino was just down the street. Sakura quickly got dressed in a pair of jean shorts and a sleeveless green hoodie and pulled it up over her head to hide her pink hair. She then walked over to Ino's house and knocked on the front door. It wasn't until several minutes _later_ that Ino finally came to the door. Sakura invited herself in as was usual between the two girls and Sakura proceeded to take her hood down from her head.

"Why did you walk over here like that?" Ino asked with a quirked brow clearly referring to Sakura's behavior walking over with a hood over her head.

Sakura huffed then explained, "Sasuke wants me to dye my hair, because pink hair is too conspicuous…"

Ino smirked, "I had a feeling he'd say that…"

Ino led Sakura up to her bathroom and shuffled through some of her cabinets before she pulled out a box that had an orange stripe on it. Sakura simply quirked a brow in curiosity.

"I ran to the store today to shop for some hair dye myself, but then I realized how many blonds were here anyway and they were, so there's no need for me to buy any, but then I thought of you. You're pink hair's even a spectacle in our own village, so I went ahead and bought dye that was your color. Your in luck, the dye here keeps your roots from showing for up to a year! Isn't that fantastic?"

Sakura smiled and sat on Ino's bathroom counter facing the mirror so Ino had access to the girl's tresses.

"You sure I'll look good with orange hair?" Sakura asked skeptically as Ino prepaired all the contents in the box to dye her hair.

Ino replied, "Well it would certainly look natural with your green eyes, as long as we do your eyebrows among other things…"

Sakura smiled sheepishly knowing that her curtains were going to have to match the drapes. She wasn't too thrilled about having to do that, but considering it was Ino, well Sakura didn't' mind _too_ terribly much. Her friend treated beauty treatments with a professional attitude.

* * *

Sasuke returned from his trip with Naruto to the market. Helping out a blond idiot do his grocery shopping was more of a chore than Sasuke had expected it to be. But as long as the dobe had food, Sasuke was sure to not have him knocking on his door with an empty stomach. Personally, Sasuke didn't want _anyone_ to bug him in Sakura. If he could've planned the mission his own way, he would have never let any of the others come alone in the first place, but he knew that would just make Sakura utterly miserable. He scanned the house, but he couldn't find her anywhere. He wasn't freaked out or anything, but it was slightly concerning him since he didn't know if she'd dyed her hair first. Being spotted by spies was the last thing the Uchiha wanted to deal with. His rising suspicions were quelled when he found a stick note on the bedroom mirror.

_I don't know what to do with my hair._

_Gone to Ino's for help._

_I'll be back later._

Sasuke growled in frustration. He didn't have time for this. He had already made a clinic appointment for her in town to see a doctor on the premises of a physical to asses her health, but in actuality it was a pregnancy screening. The doctor was sure to be stealthy about it since Sasuke bribed him to be. In the land of moon it wasn't exactly gender equal, husbands and men were allowed to pull things over their wife's heads all the time. Not that it made him feel any better that he was deceiving her after they'd made a promise to each other not to. Sasuke locked the door behind him when he left the house in his jeans and white t-shirt, heading for Ino's. He reached the front door and to his surprise it was Shikamaru who answered.

"What do you want?" Shikamaru asked in his usual annoyed tone towards anyone.

Sasuke simply let himself in looking around from where he stood then asked, "Where's Sakura?"

Shikamaru closed the door grumbling about the Uchiha's arrogant behavior then mumbled, "I think they're upstairs doing something…"

Sasuke didn't even thank Shikamaru as he made his way up the stairs to the master bedroom. He walked and then realized that there was no one in the room, but as he stood there he heard giggled and grumbled and squeaks of pain as well. He raised a brow and walked over to the door, but when he tried to open it the handle wouldn't turn.

"Don't come in!" Shouted Ino who thought that it was Shikamaru, "We're still working in here!"

"Working on _what_?" came Sasuke's indignant voice.

Suddenly all noise ceased and you could feel the tension of the other girls on the other side of the door.

"Stuff…" Ino repeated nervously.

Sasuke rolled his eyes then said, "Dying her hair isn't a big deal just let me in…"

Ino huffed then retorted in her sassy tone, "If we're going to make this look natural hun, we're going to dye more than just the hair on her head…"

Sasuke tensed up at that remark and then realized why the door was closed. He just let out an agitated sigh before giving up and sitting on the foot of the bed by the door. Their bedroom had a higher ceiling than his and Sakura's, but it made it feel emptier as well. He took note of almost every little detail in the room before he finally heard a hair drying start to ring in the bathroom. About fifteen minutes later Sakura emerged from the bathroom. Sasuke could've mistaken her for someone else. Her hair was not only orange, but had big, bouncy, loose curls.

"I present to you" Ino spoke in her announcer voice, "A new woman!"

Sasuke just kept staring at Sakura not noticing her becoming more nervous by the second.

"Stop it…" she grumbled looking down with her cheeks tinted a soft pink, "You're making me feel awkward."

Sasuke let out a "che" then walked up to her and looked her strait in the eye, "I like your pink hair better" Sakura looked back down at the floor to conceal her pooling eyes, "But It's about the next best color I could've picked for you. It's unique, but not bizarre."

Sakura picked her head up a little, but still didn't look the Uchiha strait in the eye. Sasuke simply took her arm and started guiding her to the door with her curls bobbing with ever step down the stairs she took.

"It's time to go see the doctor. We're already late." Came his usual monotonous voice.

Sakura just rolled her eyes then asked, "What did you make some kind of appointment you worry wart."

"Yes" came his blunt reply as they walked down the street towards the middle of town.

It was about a thirty-minute walk. The land of Crescent Moon was a huge, city. It didn't surprise her since it was such a huge tourist attraction. What _did_ surprise her was the urgency with which she was ushered to one of the rooms of the clinics as soon as she entered the doors.

"Is there something wrong with me?" She asked Sasuke as two men took her arms and led her to the back, "What's going on!" she shouted struggling, but in vain.

It's not like she could use her ninja strength here, it would completely blow their cover.

"Mr. Haruno" said one of the doctors, "A word please."

* * *

Hope you like this! It took me an entire weekend to come up with the ideas! I know how I want to end this story, but fabricating the road map to get there is one of the hardest parts of it all. I hope you don't mind! To make up for it I did make it a little longer, (about 3,500 words).

PLEASE REMEMBER TO REVIEW! ^(^0^)^

**WOOT FACE***

Love you all! _You_ are my drive to write!


	21. A New Dawn to a New Beginning

**Disclaimer: **I DO NOT own Naruto.

Omigod! SO MAD! Teachers are scrambling to teach us things they "forgot" towards the beginning of the semester, so even though I was technically ahead, I'm behind now. I'm so sorry that I've been neglecting to update. I'm dedicating my summer to extreme cramming of Japanese and also I have to take a health and P.E. class online, so no promises. However I will most definitely have some spare time to devote to this besides my laziness. I have nearly all A's. I deserve to sit around and do nothing this summer.

PLEASE REMEMBER TO READ AND REVIEW! ^(^0^)^

* * *

Sasuke gave the doctor a blank face as he walked up to him and they sat down in his office.

"Mr. Haruno," he stated again before continuing, "Is the reason you're bringing her in is because you don't know who the father is? We can do a paternity test as well if you wish…"

"No" Sasuke said with a smirk, "I know who the father is."

The doctor raised a brow then asked, "Then why are you keeping the test a secret?"

"She's been under stress" he stated dryly, "I don't want to get her hopes up after all the times is didn't work out."

"Doesn't she know the signs of her own body?" The doctor asked in disbelief.

"All of us have our moments doctor. She's oblivious."

The two men talked for a while before Sasuke was allowed into the patient room with Sakura. When he sat in the chair the only thing he received was a cold stare from Sakura. Obviously she was uncomfortable with a surprise examination. She waited for the door to close behind him with only those two in the room before unloading on him.

"What the hell?" she hissed, "Do you think I'm diseased or something? This isn't funny!"

Sasuke was just smirking at her giving her an unreadable face and remaining completely silent as well. He didn't particularly have anything important to say so he just decided to drag out his personal amusement as long as possible with Sakura's hushed virulent words being spat at him. As soon as the door clicked however she stopped and both of them looked at the door. The doctor stood there with a clipboard and Sakura dove for it but the Uchiha escorted the doctor out of the room, thwarting Sakura's efforts, and then looked at the clipboard himself. He was right, there was something there. The only problem was it was pretty far along, almost three months, so anything could happen. He didn't want her to get her hopes up again.

* * *

The walk home was incredibly silent. After Sasuke had told Sakura that men had superiority over their wives in the land of crescent moon, she just decided to reluctantly drop the topic, scheming on how she would look at it later. Sasuke walked into the house and Sakura was right behind him. She immediately went up the stairs to her the bedroom and slammed the door. She was mad, and Sasuke knew it. Being the cold and unsympathetic person that he is, he didn't particularly care if she liked it or not. _He_ wanted to know.

After a few hours of self contemplation in the living room over a pile of maps and reconnaissance information Tsunade sent to him, Sasuke decided it was high time he told her to lighten up. She hadn't come down for dinner when he called, and she didn't' even bother to unlock the door when he knocked and tried to open it. Like a lock could stop him. They both knew that. She was just being spiteful. He was getting up to walk up the stairs when a figure flashed in through the window and Neji was standing right in front of him.

"What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked somewhat confused with bunched eyebrows.

Neji crossed his arms then said, "I don't believe what your doing is right. Every woman has a right to her own body."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. He didn't know who leaked the information, but he would make _sure_ is didn't reach Sakura's ears just yet.

"No" he told him in cold voice, "Because she'll get her hopes up again and if it doesn't turn out right this time I _know_ she'll loose all hope."

"This could turn out very bad" Neji said sternly trying to persuade his friend, "She will put herself in situations without knowing what she's doing. It'll be like babysitting, but worse."

Sasuke grimaced knowing it was true but he decided to counteract, "I would rather stress myself out watching out for her, than get her hopes up and watch her crash like all the other times she did. Each time it gets worse, I don't want to ever see a 'next time'…"

Neji shrugged, he'd said his peace. If Sasuke was ready to deal with the problem than who was he to stop him? Neji soon said his farewells and disappeared again as quickly as he'd arrived. Sasuke decided to give Sakura a bit more time, and engorged himself in the maps once more trying to decipher what was happening. What was Madara planning? His movements were erratic and inhumanly spaced out. It was hard for Sasuke to understand.

After a few hours passed and it was well passed midnight, he could feel Sakura's chakra signature relax into a slumber, and he himself was exhausted. Against what he knew were Sakura's wishes, he entered the bedroom after picking the lock with ease. Sakura was still asleep even after he entered the room. The dramatic doctor's visit obviously wore her out. After Sasuke had changed into a pair of Pajama pants and nothing else he slid under the covers only to be mobbed by Sakura's limbs climbing him. She eventually tucked herself int he side of his body and he had no choice but to put an arm around her. At least she wasn't subconsciously mad with him. That was proof enough for him that her temper tantrum wasn't going to last very long.

* * *

Sakura woke up the next morning to her friends shoveling through her dresser drawers. She sat up rubbing her eyes in confusion.

"What are you _doing_ here?" She asked in a lethargic tone of voice.

The two girls, Ino and Ten-Ten gave her a sly smile before Ino said, "We're taking you... _**shopping!"**_

Ten-Ten joined in by adding, "You have hardly _any_ tropical weather cloths! Not even a swim suit! What's the matter with you?"

Sakura slid out from under the covers of her bed and stepped onto the cold hardwood floor causing a tingling sensation in her toes. Ten-Ten and Ino immediately grabbed her arms and escorted her to the bathroom. She was going shopping even if she didn't want to, and that was the end of it.

* * *

"There you are" came a bland voice leaning up against a nearby palm tree.

Sasuke didn't answer but nodded at Shikamaru.

"What's going on?" Shikamaru asked as they walked down the street, "You seem a little on edge."

"Hn" Sasuke grunted scowling as he and Shikamaru were headed towards the mountain ridge on the outskirts of the town.

It was obvious Sasuke wanted to speak in complete seclusion away from everyone else. Shikamaru understood the need for privacy and followed his friend in silence.

* * *

"That's _so_ cute!" Ino shrieked, holding up a canary-yellow sundress to Sakura's silhouette.

Sakura massaged the temples of her head in an attempt to alleviate the massive headache she felt coming on. Shopping with overly-giddy friends wasn't the top priority on her agenda at that moment. The first thing, was to get rid of the awful headache, and the second, find out _what_ was on that examination chart that Sasuke had to keep a secret.

"Try this!" Was what Sakura must've heard a thousand times that day before she finally forced her friends to release her.

She had the infinite Uchiha fortune at her fingertips, so buying a whole new wardrobe wasn't at all "expensive" to her. She plopped the shopping bags on the floor of her room _exhausted_. She'd humored her friends for far too long for her liking. She really felt nauseous and wanted to be left alone. Out of all the times she'd ever felt anti-social, this is the worst case of it.

* * *

"You want it to be here?" Shikamaru asked in disbelief, "You realize that medically speaking, that's dangerous."

"It will be easier to protect from attack at this height." Sasuke defended, "If he were to attack in a hospital such as the normal ones here, it'd be easy in and easy out."

Shikamaru examined the crevice leading to a medium sized cave, "Why here?"

Sasuke looked from the mountain cliff down to the city before saying, "Naruto's familiar with this place. He was here once, when he was protecting the King of the land of Crescent Moon, right before he died."

"How long do you think until she knows?" Shikamaru asked.

"I give it a few months. When the swelling starts, she'll know. She's almost in her second trimester."

"What are you going to do when she finds out?"

"Keep her from doing anything stupid."

"How do you propose on doing _that_?" Shikamaru asked with an undertone of sarcasm.

Sasuke smirked then answered, "I can tell her to do whatever I want. The wedding ring she wears is embedded with my will."

Shikamaru didn't put it past Sasuke to always have everything under control, but to actually control his _wife_. That was new. Shikamaru thought it might be an abuse of power, but so far Sasuke didn't even appear to be using it at all. Before departing their selected location, Sasuke and Shikamaru placed some protective barriers that would prevent espionage if anyone were to arrive earlier than expected.

"Aren't the girls planning something tonight?" Shikamaru asked with an agitated sigh as they were walking down the street.

Sasuke took his time looking upwards before answering, "I wasn't informed of anything."

"Then we better head back…" Shikamaru said scowling with an intuition that Sasuke was tapping into as well.

* * *

"Sakura-chan!" Ino cooed at the front door, "We're going to a luau tonight! You'recoming with us! Even if I have to drag you by your hair!"

Sakura was still fast asleep when Ino was shouting and then entered the house, only to find her collapsed on the bed. The blond grunted irritatedly then made her way over to Sakura and shook the woman awake waving a green bikini in her face, "Swim suit time!"

Sakura groaned and slapped the fabric out of Ino's hand. She really didn't want to be awake at that moment. She didn't even want anyone _near _her at the moment.

"What's the matter?" Ino asked squatting at her bedside.

Sakura rolled over to face her friend then replied, "I'm just not feeling up to it… I'm in a pissy mood."

"Uh-oh… you and hubby have a fight?"

"Kinda."

"Ouch. You know the cure?"

"Sleep?"

"No. Go out and show him he can't ruin your fun. That's what I always do!"

"Fine" Sakura groaned sitting up and scratching her head, "I'll go, just give me twenty minutes."

Ino stopped her friend from closing the bathroom door and said, "One more thing. When your done with your shower, I'll have an outfit laid out on your bed. You _have_ to wear it."

Sakura scowled knowing full well what her friend was capable of, "No promises."

"Meet us at my house as soon as your done and then we're off!"

"Goodbye... Ino..." Sakura groaned hinting at her friend to leave her alone.

After the door was shut Ino laid an outfit on the bed and left to get ready herself.

* * *

Sasuke walked through the front door and as far as he could see there had been no shenanigans, yet. He sensed Sakura's chakra signature upstairs and heard her in the shower. When he walked into the room his eyes immediately flocked to the outfit on the bed.

"Ino" he sighed agitatedly knowing what was bound to happen.

Sasuke quickly changed out of his mission cloths to avoid suspicion from Sakura on where he'd been. Once he'd changed into a casual pair of swim trunks and a white t-shirt he sat on the foot of the bed, waiting. Sakura eventually turned the hot water off and walked into the room wearing a towel. Her eyes were closed and she was running her fingers through her damp hair until she bumped into something, or _someone_.

"You…" she growled dangerously as she opened her eyes.

Sasuke gave a pause of silence before asking, "Going somewhere?"

Sakura gave him a bitter look, "Out."

Sasuke's placid face soon turned to a scowl as he said, "I'm not controlling you life Sakura, but I deserve respect as your husband. I have a right to know. Where are you going tonight?"

Sakura bit her lip. He was right, but she wouldn't admit it.

Owing him a bit of civility she answered, "Out with the girls. That's all I know, I promise."

It didn't particularly help Sasuke that she didn't know _where_ she was going, but he at least knew she wasn't being snippy anymore. Sasuke stood up from the foot of the bed when Sakura dropped her towel and got dressed in her swimsuit and cover up tie skirt. It left one of her thighs and hips exposed and the other covered. Sasuke watched as she ran a brush through her hair and applied a light coat of mascara and lip-gloss.

"Why the makeup?" Sasuke asked curiously.

Sakura shrugged before answering, "I'm not particularly trying to impress anyone, but I do care about my general appearance."

When Sakura had her back turned to the Uchiha he activated his Sharingan and examined her. Sakura wasn't particularly paying attention, but when she caught a glimpse of crimson in her mirror she saw his eyes in the reflection and spun around to face him.

"What the hell?" She shouted, "_Why_ do you keep doing that?"

Sasuke deactivated the optical jutsu and remained silent. His silence however, didn't help anything. In fact, it made Sakura even more furious than she had been before.

"You know what?" She sneered as she kicked on her flip-flops, "Forget it. Just treat me like a fucking disease _all_ you want!"

With that last remark she stormed out of the room and thirty seconds later Sasuke could hear the front door slam. Sasuke cringed a little on the inside at the loud boom. He hadn't meant to agitate her, but he ultimately attributed her outrageous behavior to pregnancy hormones. He never intended to have his actions received that way. Sasuke was driven out of his thoughts by the doorbell. He was surprised to see Shikamaru on the step.

"Ino's gone."

"So is Sakura" was Sasuke's reply.

* * *

Sakura walked down the tropically overgrown dirt path towards loud music and what appeared to be strobe lights of several colors. When they exited the path they were greeted by a large party.

"Look!" Ten-Ten squealed excitedly, "There's even a pool!"

All the girls flocked to the edge and sat to put their feet in. They were easily entertained by the people doing tricks off the diving board, getting splashed with little droplets of water each time.

* * *

"Don't you have a connection with Sakura?" Shikamaru asked pointing to the platinum band on Sasuke's finger.

Sasuke shrugged then muttered, "It's worth a try."

He crossed his arms and closed his eyes and tried to put himself into Sakura's mind. Slowly but surely he gained a few senses, sound and touch.

"There's a pool, loud music, splashing. Some sort of party…" Sasuke grumbled as he soon realized he was being pushed out of her mind.

* * *

Sakura suddenly shivered grabbing her upper arms. Ino saw her friend's reaction and gave her a quizzical look.

"Everything ok?" She asked with a raised brow and concerned face.

Sakura ran her hands nervously through her dark orange tresses and answered, "I'm not entirely sure."

"Feeling sick?"

"No" she shook her head, "More like panic mixed with anger…"

Ino shrugged as soon as Sakura took a deep breath and dove into the pool along with several other partygoers.

* * *

Sasuke and Shikamaru were walking out of the house when they saw Kiba walking down the street in swim trunks and a t-shirt.

"Where are you going?" Shikamaru called out to Kiba trying to sound casual.

The dog boy turned around and scratched the back of his head as he said, "Some party in the tropics of the island."

"We're going with you" Sasuke stated matter-of-factly.

Kiba gave them a quizzical glance before asking "Like _that_?" referring to their casual cloths.

* * *

"Up for another round?" Ino slurred as she handed out the shot glasses.

"Maybe we should stop…" Sakura suggested with a nervous laugh at her completely wasted friend.

The girls held their glasses and waited for Ino to catch her balance. Sakura wasn't sure exactly why she felt uneasy about being at the party, or the skin chilling sensation from earlier, but she didn't like it at all.

"Cheers!" the blond shouted as she kicked back her drink followed by the others.

Sakura lifted the drink to her lips only the have it knocked out of her hand by a senbon and an ominous presence. Before she could spot the assailant she was flung over a broad shoulder and carried into the lush, tropical forest.

"What are you _doing_?" She shouted beating on his shoulders.

"I could ask you the same thing" was his grunted reply.

Sakura bit her lip to chew her words before angrily hissing, "No, I can't. Because I have no idea what's going on. You've been off the walls like a fucking arachnid, and I haven't the slightest _inkling _why."

Sasuke then remembered Neji's words and face palmed himself.

"_This could turn out very bad" Neji said sternly trying to persuade his friend, "She will put herself in situations without knowing what she's doing. It'll be like babysitting, but worse."_

Sasuke knew it was now or never as he asked, "How many drinks have you had?"

"Two _almost_ three, why?" She answered skeptically with her hands on her hips, "What's this about? You're not telling me anything… what are you hiding?"

"You're pregnant."

Sakura used the palm tree behind her as a brace before she swung around hugging it and hurling. She knew it wasn't from the news, but her lack of alcohol tolerance.

"I hope you didn't do too much damage…" Sasuke grumbled under his breath, "Do you still want to stay? Or do you want to go home?"

"Ho-" Sakura grunted but was cut off mid-word by another round of bile escaping her lips.

Sasuke slung Sakura over his shoulder and carried her back towards the party and made his way over to Shikamaru and Kiba.

"I'm taking her home" he stated monotonously, "You guys stay here and watch the rest of them."

Both men nodded and Kiba proceeded to jump head long into the pool.

Ino saw Sasuke carrying the newly dyed orange-head and chased them down yelling, "Where are you taking my favorite party animal!"

Sasuke froze and was about to turn around to face the blond but Sakura interjected from over his shoulder, "This party animal is all partied out Ino-pig…"

Ino made a pouting face. She'd wanted to have a fun girls' night out and like many times before, Sasuke got in the way. The raven-haired man didn't even bother to stop as he made his way towards the forest on the beaten path.

"You still conscious?" Sasuke asked as he set Sakura down on the front porch.

Sakura's only reply was a gurgling noise. Sasuke was tempted to roll his eyes, but supported her with one arm as he unlocked the door using the other.

"Easy" he grunted as he picked Sakura up again and felt her stomach heave a little.

Sakura put her hand over her mouth but it was no use. Sasuke huffed. It was all over the entry way and his left shoulder and hair.

"You really had too much to drink…" he commented as he carried her up the stairs.

Sakura sniveled a little at the burning acid in her mouth before answering, "I promise I didn't have that much to drink, I'm almost completely sober."

Sasuke sighed, a little annoyed, she must've gotten some sort of food poisoning in order for her to be puking that much. Sasuke set Sakura down next to the bathroom toilet.

"Puke in here" he told her, "I'll be back in a minute."

Sakura hugged the toilet seat for dear life as she puked yet again. Sasuke headed for the entryway to go clean Sakura's bile that was all over the place. He'd worry about his own cloths and hair last. Then just when he was about to attribute the puking to alcohol poisoning, he realized the smell didn't hold the usual pungency of liquor. She was just having severe morning sickness. Now she would possibly figure it out. However Sasuke wasn't sure if she'd heard him over the puking when he'd tried to tell her. After Sasuke was done cleaning up the vomit, he made his way into the bedroom and dumped his acidic shirt into the laundry hamper. He entered the bathroom and saw Sakura puking her brains out in dry heaves because her stomach was completely empty. Sasuke picked a hair tie up off the sink and tied Sakura's hair in a messy bun. After gently removing her bathing suit Sasuke set her down in the shower and turned on the water then took the hose of the shower to rinse the contents of her stomach off her skin and also allowing her to rinse her mouth.

"You've never had it _this_ bad…" Sasuke muttered as he turned the water off and carried her to the bathroom tub.

"I'm… I'm…" Sakura tried to quiver the words out, but her vocal chords just wouldn't let her.

Sasuke pressed his lips to hers to silence her and hovered over her mouth as he said, "I know."

Sakura looked at Sasuke and realized he had his shirt off.

"You're pants are soaked…"

"They're just swim trunks, its fine."

"Are you cold?"

"No"

Sakura wasn't sure where to take the conversation next so she was silent. Sasuke got in a comfortable position next to the tub.

"Can you do me a favor?" Sakura asked sheepishly.

Sasuke simply nodded his head without vocally answering her question.

"Can you get me a bucket or basin to throw up in? Less clean up for you… heh…"

Sasuke got up and left the bathroom and came back in with a metal pail from what Sakura assumed was the garage.

"Now set it next to the tub and get in with me."

Sasuke raised a brow, curious about her suggestion, but did it anyway. He took off his trunks then slid in behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. Sakura leaned her head back against his chest while Sasuke took a washcloth and washed her off as much as he could. Sakura melted at the sensation of the warm cloth roving around her body.

"So… what now?" She asked with audible feat in her voice.

* * *

I'm so sorry that this isn't really that long… I hope you all aren't that mad at me! I have already made a small start on the next chapter for you all! Please leave me reviews! I would LOVE to hear what you think!


	22. One Step At A Time

**Disclaimer:** I DO NOT own Naruto.

So I'm sorry this has taken a while… :3

I'm just starting to run out of juice! I know what I want the ending to be, but I still don't know _how_ to approach getting there. I hope you all don't mind… This chapter is a little frazzling in a sense that it kinda hops from Crescent, and Leaf village.

Anyways. I'm so glad school's out! HAGS! ^_^

* * *

"We take it one step at a time" he stated simplistically, "In a few weeks we'll go for a check-up, a few more weeks we'll get an ultrasound, and do what we've always done before. Just hope."

Sakura relaxed into Sasuke's chest. It was rare for him to speak like this, so she was soaking in every minute of it. She was glad to be pregnant again, but it still made her a target, more so than before. Sasuke leaned forward to add more hot water to the tub, but Sakura shot towards the pail by the tub and threw-up into it.

Sasuke widened his eyes just a fraction then said, "I think it's time you went to bed…"

He unplugged the drain of the bath then helped Sakura out of the tub. He wrapped a towel around his waist then handed one to Sakura to dry off herself. After she dried off and wrapped the towel around herself she made her way into the bedroom and shuffled through her dresser drawers only to find it barren. She'd forgotten to do her laundry.

Sasuke entered the room and threw something at her saying, "Here."

It was one of his clean shirts. She threw it on then ran down to the kitchen and opened the fridge and pulled out the milk carton and started chugging it. Sasuke appeared a few moments later leaning on the door frame with crossed arms and a raised eyebrow.

Sakura wiped her mouth with her arm then noticed Sasuke in the doorway and sheepishly stuttered, "I was thirsty…"

Sasuke shook his head then walked back up the stairs to the bedroom. He was in for a _long_ headache. A nine-month one… possibly even longer.

* * *

**A few weeks later**

"Please sit here Mrs….?"

"Haruno"

"Right" the doctor said as he grabbed a clipboard off the back of the door.

"So you believe your pregnant?"

Sakura smiled then replied, "Yes."

"Well then, let's get some blood work done."

The doctor took a few vials of blood and then took them back to the lab room leaving Sakura and Sasuke alone in an uncomfortable silence.

"What if… what if it's not there?"

Sasuke raised a glace to Sakura then shrugged saying, "I doubt it's gone, but your drinking episode might've done something."

Sakura scowled, "How was _I_ supposed to know? You never told me!"

"I never blamed you" came his monotonous reply.

Sakura just huffed, there was no winning this battle with him. He was in a foul mood for some reason.

"Sorry…" Sakura blurted softly to try and ease the situation.

The doctor came in a few minutes later with a smile on his face and asked, "You want to see him?"

"I'm _that_ far along?" Sakura asked in disbelief.

"At least ten weeks" the doctor replied setting up the ultrasound equipment.

Sakura clasped her hand in excitement. She was anxious to see what it looked like. No gender could be determined yet, and there was no heartbeat, but you could see the shape of it.

"Lookie here" the doctor said, pointing to the screen of the ultrasound explaining everything.

Sakura watched in wonder at the screen, letting tears pool in her eyes. However Sasuke was disturbed because he sensed a presence outside. As soon as he turned his head towards the window, the presence disappeared and he saw a shadow move. Sasuke instantly teleported and found just who the shadow was.

"Foolish little brother" Itachi smirked, "I wish I didn't have to do this."

"Do _what_?" Sasuke asked while clutching the handle of his katana.

"Spying on you!"

"Then don't."

Itachi shook his head at his brother's misinterpretation, "I have no choice in the matter. I only have few freedoms such as speaking, but everything else is controlled."

Sasuke's eyes widened a bit before narrowing his eyes again and drawing his blade, "Then forgive me for what I'm about to do…"

"Don't" Itachi cut in quickly, "It's absolutely pointless. I can't die, even if you kill Madara I won't die."

Sasuke's face showed even more frustration as he hissed, "Impure world resurrection…"

"Yes."

Sasuke relaxed the grip on his blade before asking, "Why did he choose you? Why not mom or dad?"

Itachi softened his eyes just a bit as he said, "Because I am your weakness. Your guilt practically materializes me to this world. I never wanted you to discover the truth. Now you feel as if you've murdered me. Madara feeds off that misery like a leech."

Sasuke kept eye contact with Itachi as he asked, "So what now?"

"I can't stay much longer. My body is not my own. I'm going to be forced to tell Madara everything I know."

"So he's going to know she's pregnant?"

"Yes."

Sasuke let an aggravated growl leave his lips having an indestructible spy apparently had its perks.

"This might not mean much" Itachi quietly stated, "But congratulations."

As soon as Sasuke was about to charge at his brother to keep the precious information from escaping, Itachi disappeared in a cloud of smoke and appeared to be running several miles in the distance.

* * *

"Where _were_ you?" Sakura asked as Sasuke entered back into the room.

"I'll tell you later" he stated flatly ending the argument that was encroaching.

He couldn't exactly spill what had just happened in front of the doctor. Sasuke and Sakura looked at the pictures taken from the ultrasound. It made him content to see Sakura so happy, but he wouldn't deny that it severely stressed him out.

"Would you like to schedule another appointment in six weeks?" The nurse asked.

Sasuke handed her the money for the first appointment that day and signed a few medical forms before making another appointment. They walked out of the office and Sasuke was on edge. Constantly looking from side to side, up and down, it was obvious to Sakura he was unsettled.

"What's the matter with you? You aren't acting normal!" She asked frustrated by his pensive and vigilant persona.

"I already told you" he hissed into her ear while they walked down the street to avoid pedestrian eavesdroppers, "I'll tell you when we get _home_?"

Sakura huffed as Sasuke grabbed her wrist and led her down the crowded street towards home. He knew he shouldn'tve made an appointment on Saturday, Crescent Moon was always busy on weekends, especially Saturday. The casinos were packed, the restaurants were booming, and every hooker on the island was working the street.

"Hey red-head!" Sakura heard someone telling, "up here!"

Sakura looked up to a restaurant balcony to see several teammates enjoying breakfast.

"Hey!" Sakura waved at Ino as they kept walking.

Sasuke kept holding onto her wrists and kept walking, and Sakura could tell he wasn't stopping for anything. Truly she had no idea what had shaken him up so badly. She breathed a huge sigh of relief when the house was in sight. As soon as they were through the door Sasuke slammed it shut and put a barrier around the whole house.

"God dammnit!" Sakura shouted, "Honestly! What has you so intense!"

Sasuke covered her mouth before she could shout anymore and looked out to peep-hole of the door and summoned then sent his snakes to scout through the whole house. Sakura fought her hardest to remove the Uchiha's hand, but it was pointless. Eventually she bit his hand causing him to let go of her.

"What was that for?" He hissed at her gripping his hand.

Sakura crosser her arms scowling as she seethed, "It was for covering my mouth."

Sasuke was thinking of a retort to fire back at her, but his snakes came swarming up to him and one of them hissed, "There'sssss nothing here sssssire."

"Nothing? Or no _one_?" Sasuke asked cautiously.

"No one."

Sasuke nodded and the snakes disappeared in a cloud of smoke and Sasuke went upstairs to get more barrier equipment.

"You really are bothered by something aren't you? What's out there that you think is stronger than you?" Sakura asked in slight annoyance.

Sasuke froze halfway up the stairs and looked over his shoulder, "My brother's returned."

"He isn't dead?" Sakura asked in shock.

"No. He died. He's been brought back by impure world resurrection."

Sakura's hand went over her mouth. She had no response to the news she'd just received. Hearing of the technique's dreadfulness form Tsunade herself she wondered who could have the power to perfect the jutsu? It had to be Madara. Either way she knew she had to find a way to protect herself. Itachi didn't have control over his own body anymore, he was under Madara, plus Madara himself. That was double trouble as far as Sakura was concerned.

"What are we supposed to do about it?" Sakura asked unsure.

Sasuke grabbed the back of his neck and rubbed it unsure of how to answer that question. He hadn't thought about it himself. Sasuke just shrugged at her then came back down the stairs and went into the small study room with books on shelves everywhere. Sasuke skimmed the shelves and so did Sakura but both of them came up dry.

"You know what this means right?" Sasuke asked grimly.

Sakura looked at him slightly puzzled but an otherwise plain expression as she replied, "No. What does it mean?"

Sasuke sat down and pulled out a sheet of paper saying, "We have to write a letter to Tsunade. I'm not comfortable with only who we have here. We need back up."

"Like?"

"Kakashi, Inoichi, Hibiki, anyone. I don't care."

Sakura just looked at the floor. She wasn't sure what exactly was going on and what was going to happen.

"We don't have a choice" he added.

Sasuke wasn't one to ask for help, so sending an urgent letter to the Hokage wasn't exactly on his bucket list of things to do before he died. With a big huff Sasuke sat down at his desk and wrote the letter, put it on the back of a messenger hawk, sealed the tube, attached a black ribbon to the hawk's foot, and sent it flying.

Sakura sat on the windowsill it flew out of with Sasuke standing beside her and watched it's flapping wings disappear into the setting sunset.

* * *

"So you're positive?" Madara asked in his usual twisted tone.

Itachi was kneeled with one fits on the floor as he said, "I can't lie to you. You know that."

"Of course you can" Madara hissed, "You still love your little brother more than you loved your own life."

Itachi smirked and replied, "Doubt if you want, non of this tom-foolery affects me."

"We'll see about that" Madara manically chuckled as he disappeared down a darkened corridor.

* * *

"You really should stop for the night" Shizune pleaded as she threw away yet _another_ emptied bottle of sake.

"Fuck you" Tsunade replied, "I need my numbness for this god forsaken job…"

Shizune was used to the Hokage's usually bad attitude when drunk, but her sailor's mouth was new.

"Get me some more paperwork to file, I can't sleep."

"You're not doing anything but taking an aspirin and going to bed."

"You're not my mother."

"But you need one."

"Go home. You're dismissed from my sight."

Shizune ground out her teeth as she spat, "You might be able to dismiss me from work as your assistant, but my work as your friend doesn't ever end. Deal with it."

Tsunade just rubbed the temples of her head and stood up to force Shizune out of the office and was contemplating throwing her out the front doors when a man rushed into the room.

He was panting as he incoherently breathed out, "This *pant* is urgent *pant* it must *pant* be read immediately."

Tsunade grabbed the tube with the black ribbon attached to it and shoved the man out of the room and slammed the door behind her. She didn't want anymore disturbances. However the tube disturbed her in of itself.

"What the-" she stammered, "There's such a strong seal on this tube I'm actually going to need a written jutsu to unseal it…"

Shizune raised an eyebrow as she got the supplies for Tsunade and she wrote on the scroll then placed the sealed bottle on top and released its seal. She quickly opened its contents and read over every line then slammed it down and covered her eyes.

"Get me another drink…" she grumbled in frustration.

* * *

"Good morning Crescent Moon! Are you ready for the festival of palms tonight? It's supposed to be the event of the year!"

The radio's static voice broke through Sakura's wall of slumber and brought her back to life. Surprisingly, Sasuke was still lying beside her in the bed. He was absolutely exhausted to still be in bed at this hour. Sakura wasn't really paying attention to the radio until it said, "We have a special performer who claims to not only talk to the dead, but brings them back to life!"

Sakura's eyes narrowed at the radio with such intensity she hoped the damned contraption would break. Surely Sasuke was hearing this. She was caught listening mid stride to the bathroom careful to find out the location and time of the "festival of palms."

She was right. Sasuke was listening. He was awake long before the radio went off, he was too exhausted to move, but couldn't sleep any longer. After the radio commercial for the festival was over his eyes were wide open and he was well aware that Sakura was halfway to the bathroom.

He sat up and told her, "No way in hell are _you_ going to that carnival."

"Why not?"

"It's too dangerous for you to be there."

"Are you just going to go by yourself?"

"More or less."

"You're a fool!"

"And you'll be snatched out from under my nose again if I'm not careful."

"What if this is a diversion and they come get me from here?"

"You'll be at Ino's with her and Shikamaru. They're capable of defending you."

Sakura stamped her foot as she screamed, "Stop treating me like and object! I'm not a precious gem! I'm a _human_! You can't tell me what to do! You can't tell me where to go! You can't run my life!"

Sasuke walked up to her and grabbed her chin as he answered, "You're right. You're _more_ valuable than a gem. Which is why you're going to do exactly what I tell you."

"Make me!" She shouted.

"Sit." Was all he said to her with a scowl.

Sakura's butt slammed into the floor directly below her as she looked at Sasuke with vicious eyes hissing, "How the hell did you do that?"

Sasuke pointed to the ring on his finger explaining, "This binds us. I had my chakra infused into both of these rings. I knew at some point I might have to impose my will on you in order to protect you. I haven't used it until now because I haven't had to, but you've tap-danced on my last good nerve and this is all I have left. You _will_ listen to me."

Sakura tried to shake her head out of the grip of his hand, but it was futile. He was much stronger than her and held her head perfectly in place.

"Why?" She whimpered looking at the floor as tears rolled down her cheeks and Sasuke let go of her chin.

Sasuke hated to see her cry, especially if he knew it was because of him. He almost walked out of the room to let her wallow in her own temper tantrum but he turned around and just looked at her.

"What?" She asked violently in tears.

Sasuke was leaning against the door frame so he continued the silence until he finally asked, "Is there anything I can do to make you just a little more happy?"

"Just take away the rest of my freedom. Takeaway my own thoughts and implant your own. Maybe then I'll be happy."

Sasuke scowled at her sarcasm. He was only trying to help, and despite what she knew, loosing her for those numerous days was the most stressful experience of his life. He wasn't going to go through that again if he could help it.

"Try to understand…" he muttered as he kneeled down in front of her, "Not a lot of people get a second chance like I did when I got you back. I know for a fact that there isn't going to be a third."

Sakura threw herself onto him still sobbing as she whimpered, "I'm so scared…"

"Me too."

* * *

"What's happened?" Kakashi asked in a sour tone to the Hokage.

"The reason you're being sent to Crescent is to help Sasuke protect Sakura. Everyone else has been sent with them, but it appears that it possibly might not be enough. I want you to not only protect Sakura from outside threats, but domestic ones as well."

"What is _that_ supposed to mean?" Sai asked confused and slightly scratching the back of his head.

Yamato pinked the skin in-between his eyes as he answered, "It means that she thinks Sasuke might accidentally hurt Sakura."

"Why?" Sai asked again, yet another stupid question.

Kakashi sighed before saying, "He's under a lot of stress from not only dealing with a pregnant Kunoichi, which by the way is ten times worse than a normal woman, but he also has to protect her when she doesn't even want to protect herself. Throw supposed Itachi into the pot and something's bound to boil over."

Tsunade nodded then leaned back in her chair as she said, "I'm only sending you three because sending any larger number and Madara will amass more force than he already has. So you are to remain stealth until you arrive and face conflict. Is that understood?"

"Yes" they all replied in unison.

"Dismissed."

* * *

"Nice barrier you put up there" Shikamaru said in annoyance from his yard across the street, "Do you realize how unstealthy that is? Itachi doesn't know where you live, but someone with a barrier? That's a dead ringer man…"

Sasuke was in such a frazzle last night that he didn't even realize that Shikamaru's point was valid, why hadn't he thought about that? Sasuke dissolved the barrier and face palmed himself.

"Happens to the best of us…" Shikamaru muttered as he walked back inside his house.

Sasuke had gone shopping earlier that day and it was now noon and he found Sakura in a mess of dresses on the floor sitting in gym shorts and a tank top with tears streaming down her face.

"What now?" he asked somewhat impatient, but trying to hide how annoyed he was.

Sakura sniveled and tried to wipe the tears off her face as she cried, "Nothing fits! I'm too fat! I won't have anything to wear to the festival tonight!"

"You're not fat" Sasuke muttered and rubbed the temples of his head, "You're pregnant."

"It's the same thing!" she wailed with wild abandonment.

Sasuke left the bedroom and trudged over to Shikamaru's house. He was in his right mind to just leave her on the floor crying until she calmed herself down like a spoiled child, but he knew better than that. He would only get hell for it later.

Sasuke knocked on the door and was answered by Shikamaru with a sarcastic, "Can I help you?"

Sasuke pushed himself past Shikamaru into the house, which was rude, but then he asked, "Where's you wife?"

"Why?"

"I need her."

"For what purpose?"

"My pregnant wife."

"Uh oh…" Shikamaru mocked as he walked up the stairs to go get Ino out of the bathtub she'd been in for hours.

Ino came down the stairs in a sundress while ringing out her wet hair with a bath towel. She walked up to Sasuke, narrowed her eyes and put her hands on her hips.

"What do you need help with?" She asked, not amused that she'd been withdrawn from her bath.

Sasuke pinched the skin between his eyes then said, "Sakura's sitting on the floor in a puddle of clothing and tears. She claims none of them fit her. She thinks that being pregnant means she's fat. I can't deal with this. I need you to find her something to wear to the festival tonight.

Ino rolled her eyes muttering, "You insensitive men never understand…" before walking out the door and closing it behind her.

* * *

Sorry it took so friggin' long! I didn't mean for it to! I have two summer courses in addition to several summer assignments I'm supposed to do. I don't even remember half of the curriculum in my summer math packet :'(

Anyways, I hope to update again soon! Hopefully it'll be a little longer, just to make up for the wait!


	23. This Ain't No Place For Animals

**Disclaimer: **I DO NOT own Naruto.

I'm so sorry that it's taken me so long to write! I also apologize that this isn't longer. I was hoping to put in a solid 5,000+ words :/

Anyway. Online school was ok. I got an A in health and a B in P.E. because my teacher is retarded and doesn't give instructions correctly. I've also had a few school assignments for the upcoming semester in the Fall. I'm going to be in a few honors classes and an AP class. Last semester I was just in all on level classes 0_0

Getting all A's puts you in scary places…

Either way I have to tell you that when the school year starts I can't make any promises on the updates of this story. I really do hope to finish it soon. It's so close to being done! SO CLOSE! I still have to chisel away a bit at the path, but the ending it going to be so epic guys it's just going to blow your mind!

I hope you all are enjoying your summer! CHEERS! ^(^0^)^

* * *

"Teme!" Naruto shouted at Sasuke while running after him down the sidewalk.

Sasuke pretended he didn't hear the fracas of the blond behind him, because he had 99 problems, and a blond nuisance wasn't going to be one.

Naruto grabbed onto Sasuke shoulder and spun him around while shouting, "Why didn't you turn around? I know you could hear me!"

Sasuke let out a "tch" then bushed Naruto's hand off and said, "I have important things to take care of. I can't have your deadweight dragging me behind."

Naruto scowled and crossed his arms, "This again? I think we already established we're on equal ground. I'm not dead weight."

"For what I'm doing, you are."

"How so?"

"I don't have the time nor the patience to explain it to you, I'll see you later at the festival tonight. Goodbye Naruto."

With that Sasuke sped walked away from the blond down an alley and used a teleportation jutsu to get closer to the mountains. He had to check the spot. It was driving him mad.

* * *

"Get the fuck up" Ino said as she crashed through the door of the bedroom where Sakura was exactly how Sasuke described her in a puddle of tears and clothing.

Sakura went wide-eyed at the apprehensive blond standing in her doorway.

"You're not even halfway through your second trimester yet, don't give me this shit. Get up forehead, we're going shopping."

Sakura scowled at Ino attitude, but she figured Sasuke had put her in a bad mood because no one else could've sent her over here.

As soon as they were both out Sakura's front door there was an awkward and uncomfortable silence. Sakura didn't quite know what to say to Ino, but she settled for fidgeting with her fingers instead.

"Stop looking so shameful" Ino grumbled, "You're pregnant inside the confines of marriage. No one slanders a woman who follows her values."

Sakura gave Ino a small smile, the first she'd had in a few days. Ino smiled back, and somehow Sakura's mood was instantly lifted.

"_Oh god! It must be the hormones!_" She inwardly cringed as she started playing with her hair now.

Ino put her hands on her hips and raised a brow at Sakura then said, "Seriously? You're a nervous wreck. Is there something else going on? Did Sasuke tell you something? Did he yell at you?"

"No…"

"Good… so what is it?"

Sakura took a glace away from Ino to her lower right before sorrowfully saying, "I think it's best I let someone _else_ tell you first. He's planning on addressing everyone soon with a mission update."

Ino crossed her arms asking, "I seriously have to wait that long?"

"It's not _that_ long…" Sakura replied as she walked through a store door that Ino held open for her.

"Enough" Ino said with an implied 'humph!', "No more Sasuke or doomsday crap. We're shopping. It's all about you now."

Sakura gave her friend a weary smile as Ino went to the first section of the maternity store that interested her, the lingerie section.

* * *

"I didn't tamper with it" Sasuke heard a voice call from over his shoulder.

He spun around with his kusanagi drawn and prepared but quickly re-sheathed it after seeing who it was, "Shikamaru" he said composed.

The brunette walked up to him then asked, "You got the feeling too didn't you?"

"Aa"

Shikamaru didn't like Sasuke's improper conversational replies, but there wasn't much he could do. Just as the two were standing there in silence trying to sense the disturbance a messenger hawk flew up to the two of them and perched itself on Sasuke's arm. Shikamaru took out the message from the canister.

"It's addressed to you" Shikamaru said as he took the hawk on his own arm then gave the note to Sasuke.

Sasuke unrolled the note then read it to himself.

_I want a full status report on Sakura. How many weeks is she?_

_How are her behaviors? Any movements from the baby?  
Is there any danger to her? Does she have a baby bump yet?  
What does the doctor estimate the due date will be?  
Do you have any baby cloths picked out? Are you prepared_

_to be a father Uchiha? I would come down there myself_

_and visit her, but my work prohibits me from leaving the_

_village as well as the fact that it would endanger the_

_masking of her identity. I also want you to send me_

_every single piece of intel and information you have_

_on what exactly is going on down there. I want details._

_also make sure that Sakura is under __**minimal**__ stress. Second_

_trimester is ruthless and notorious for miscarriages. Don't_

_emotionally disturb her beyond what her hormones do._

_I've also sent a backup group to assist you. They'll be_

_there shortly, within a matter of hours to a day by the_

_time you receive this letter._

_Write back immediately,_

_-Tsunade._

"Well this is annoying…" Sasuke muttered under his breath and then proceeded to hand the note to Shikamaru.

"Troublesome woman…" he muttered in agreement with Sasuke.

The raven haired man crossed his arms then asked, "What are we supposed to do about this?"

"What the letter says? That's all we _can_ do right now. Besides she sent back up, so that definitely helps with security."

"Not completely…" Sasuke muttered in frustration while running his hand through his hair, "It won't do much against Impure World Resurrection."

Shikamaru's facial expression turned from it's normal uninterested appearance to one of severe intensity as he hissed, "You better tell me everything Uchiha."

* * *

"For the _last_ time Sakura, **you **_**are **__**not**__**FAT!**_"

"But how come the size take says 'Small/Wide'?"

Ino smacked her forehead then said, "It's because of your baby bump! That goes _away_ after you have your baby! Hence the name _baby __**bump**_, not 'permanent bump' or 'I'm a fatty bump'…"

Sakura wasn't very comforted by Ino's sarcasm, but she knew that her hormones were starting to get the best of her and making her do and say things she wouldn't ordinarily consider. She decided on a few pieces of clothing. It feels like she just went shopping the other day for cloths that would _normally_ fit her.

"You're missing something _important_!" Ino teased her.

"What?" Sakura asked in confusion.

Ino smirked before answering, "A maternity bikini."

"Isn't that called a swimsuit? And I believe those are one pieces, Ino, not bikinis."

"No they make bikinis" Ino said with a menacing grin as she drug her friend towards the swimsuit section of the maternity store and presented her with a rack of revealing bikinis.

"No one wants to see _this_" Sakura motioned to her baby bump, "In a bikini, all hanging out there."

Ino crossed her arms and scoffed, "No one really minds. Trust me. Pregnant women can _still_ be attractive."

Sakura rubbed the back of her neck. She wasn't sure about all this. All she knew was that she was putting all her old cloths in a box when she got home to be stored somewhere for five months until she could wear them again.

"Fine…" Sakura grumbled as she swiped a lime green bikini out of Ino's hand and tossed it on her heap of clothing at the check out stand.

The bill didn't surprise Sakura, but she knew it was all taken care of. She paid for half of it out of her own mission money pocket simply because she didn't want Sasuke to pay for _all_ of Ino's damage.

When the two girls arrived back at Sakura's house they proceeded to box away Sakura's old cloths that no longer fit her (for the short duration). They also cleaned up the place a bit and Ino pulled something surprising out of her purse.

"You'll need these" she handed the packets to Sakura.

The orange headed girl stared confused then smiled, "I probably will."

They were electrical outlet covers to keep children from sticking their hands in the sockets and electrocuting themselves.

"You might want to go ahead and childproof your house while bending over and crouching down isn't so much of a burden. Do it now and then you won't have to later. You also might want to consider making a baby's room."

"But we won't stay for very long after the baby's born, right?"

"With the 'new' threat you've been talking about. Who knows what Tsunade might do. Better to be prepared than sorry."

"But we don't even know the gender!"

"It's called neutral colors, forehead. No pinks or blues, anything else works just fine."

Sakura huffed in frustration. Ino was a panacea when it came to almost anything in terms of preparing. Although considering that Ino had a small child of her own back home, she would definitely know what was best to do at times like these.

"Do you think Sasuke would care if I started picking out paints and furniture for the baby's room?" Sakura asked playing with her fingers.

"Has Sasuke every cared about you doing interior decorating before?" Ino asked somewhat sardonically.

Sakura shrugged and muttered, "Not really…"

"There ya go" Ino said as she headed to the door, "We can go shopping for baby supplies and furniture tomorrow. I'll share everything you might want to know along the way. However let's just take this one step at a time girl. We need to find you a Kimono for the fall festival tonight."

Sakura nodded and hopped off the floor walking towards the door, "We should've gotten it while we were out before."

"Whatever. More exercise."

* * *

"I didn't hear you incorrectly, right?" Shikamaru asked in utter disbelief, "I didn't think that's what we were up against."

"Why else would I put a barrier around my house like I did, even though it was a dead giveaway of location? Why else did I put a tracker on Sakura?"

"You what?" Shikamaru interrupted him, "You seriously put a tracker on her? As much as I'd like to call that preparedness I think it borders on over the top."

"You know what happened last time. Don't give me that crap."

"Back to the point, Uchiha. What the hell's going on?"

Sasuke huffed before asking, "You aren't going to wait for my mission update to everyone else, are you?"

"What do you think?"

Sasuke scowled before telling Shikamaru the current situation while writing a reply to Tsunade's note and sending it flying it with the hawk.

* * *

"Pink is too monotone on you. It looks awful with your hair, especially if it's a different shade."

"Thanks…" Sakura said agitated while she stormed back into the dressing room for what seemed the umpteenth time.

"I'm only trying to help" Ino stated as she picked up a different dress and handed it over the stall door to Sakura.

When Sakura came out Ino nodded while smiling enthusiastically. It was a white with black roses outline in red and purple. It was a beautiful design and it didn't clash with her hair. The two bagged it and headed home in order to prepare for the festival.

* * *

"Christ!" Ino yelled from the living room when Sakura was half way up the stairs.

Sakura came running back down thinking that someone had broken into the house and considering that Ino could handle more than a standard thug it made her paranoid as she ran into the room. Ino was sitting in a pile of shopping bags looking at three men sitting on the sofa.

"Sensei…" Sakura muttered, "Please announce yourself next time…"

"Yo" Kakashi greeted finally as he stood up to help the blond off the floor.

Yamato stood up and said, "We're the back-up Tsunade sent because she's become quite paranoid about the situation down here.

"Look at you!" Sai stood up with his almost fiendish smile, "Ugly _and_ fat."

Sakura started to roll up a sleeve of her shirt when Kakashi rested his hand on her arm saying, "Don't worry we got him bad earlier." Smiling behind his mask.

Sakura wiped some of the nervous sweat from earlier off of her brow as she ran upstairs and put her dress on the bed before running back downstairs. She poured them all some tea or water and sat at the table in the living room on the floor.

"You're in grave danger" Said Yamato with a too serious tone that he tended to have in dire situations.

Ino raised a brow at her and asked, "We… knew that already?"

Kakashi shook his head and added, "There was a threat, but now there's sincere danger. It's now not a matter of 'if' but 'when'."

Sakura looked down into her teacup and said, "Actually… there is something, well, someone, already here."

Kakashi's visible eye widened in an almost urging way for her to continue, but the door opened and then slammed.

"Okairi, goshujin." Sakura said still staring into her cup knowing Sasuke was probably already leaning in the doorway staring at the back of her head.

"How kind of Tsunade to give me a 30 minute notice" he growled indignantly.

"What are you talking about?" Sai asked, "She sent the Hawk three days ago."

"Right behind you goons. You don't think it gets here instantly do you?"

"Well if we aren't welcome to stay here then we'll just go somewhere else." Kakashi frowned as he made his way over to his former student to leave.

Sasuke looked him in the eye and said, "Stay as long as you like to visit, but you can't sleep here. Find another place."

Sakura gasped as Sasuke's apparent rudeness and leapt up and grabbed his arm as he was leaving and said, "How can you treat Kaka-sensei this way? He's come so far. I understand making Sai and Yamato find somewhere else, but Kakashi deserves our utmost respect and we owe him so much! Why can't he sleep here?"

Sasuke scowled at his wife. It was times like these where even though she made sense, she got on his nerves the most. He clenched his fists in frustration before looking over at Sai and Yamato standing off to the side wondering why they were still here.

"Fine" he hissed, "But he sleeps on the couch."

"No1" Sakura shouted stamping her foot after he broke free of her hands and was walking away, "He sleeps in the extra guest room, because that's what it's for!"

Sasuke turned around with his sharingan flaring growling, "You're testing my patience. I'm the authority of this household."

Kakashi was appalled at Sasuke's behavior and lifted up his headband brandishing his own sharingan at his pupil, "You apologize to her this instant. She's done nothing wrong, and further more what the hell are you getting angry for?"

"You'll do well to remember whose house you're standing in Kakashi, I can _choose_ to be hospitable or not."

"Sasuke! Stop acting like some maniac who-"

Sakura was cut off mid rant by Sasuke yelling, "Quiet!" which struck her face with fear and caused her ring to send a shock up her arm and seal her lips.

Sakura pulled at her mouth making noises but her lips wouldn't part and she looked at Kakashi with pleading eyes.

Kakashi looked horrified at Sakura and Ino did as well. No one knew what was happening or what Sasuke did to Sakura, but to hold that kind of power over your significant other was inexplicably terrifying and might as well be called slavery.

"What are you _doing_? !" Kakashi yelled at Sasuke, "What kind of sealing jutsu is _that_ supposed to be!"

Sasuke ignored his teacher and kept walking up the stairs. He wasn't satisfied with the current situations and unexpected guests made it worse.

"Sakura, make the guest bedroom. Yamato and Sai sleep on the futon in the living room. No exceptions, and no one else." Sasuke said before making a turn a disappearing down the upstairs hallway.

Tears streamed down Sakura's face, as she was still unable to speak. Kakashi slowly walked over and cupped her face with his hands frowning. He couldn't find the source of the seal and he was thinking hard trying to trace her chakra signals.

"You do it" he looked over at Ino, "You're better at this."

Ino's family had the special ability of interrogational chakra which means that she can either invade Sakura's chakra stream to find the source, or invade her memories if she knew about it. The first was easier so Ino took Sakura's hands in her in order to focus, and instantly found the problem.

"It's the ring…" she said in disbelief holding Sakura's left hand up with her wedding band on it.

Kakashi scowled as he hissed, "This is low, even for him."

Sakura bashfully took her hand away and crossed her arms looking dishearteningly at the floor. What other options did she have but to go talk to Sasuke? It was the only way to get her voice back. She bowed to Kakashi, Sai, Yamato, and Ino before rushing up the stairs down the hallway towards Sasuke's room. The door to their bedroom slowly creaked open and Sasuke spun around and was surprised to see Sakura standing there in the doorway.

"Didn't I tell you to go get a guest room ready for Kakashi?" he asked her, "Isn't that what you wanted?"

Tears silently streamed down Sakura's eyes as she still stood there stark silent and unmoving. Sasuke gave her a weary look and realized that his snap at her had instinctively caused the ring to react to his command.

"Release" he said monotonously as Sakura regained control over her voice box.

Sakura grabbed her throat and realized she now had the ability to talk, but found no words to speak. She was terrified. It was apparent to her that he _had_ told her about the ring, but that he would only use it in dire situations. Since when was arguing with each other a dire situation? She realized now that this power he had over her made her completely subservient to him. While she would have normally obeyed him and done things his way on her own volition, she found the idea as grotesque as slavery. He had enslaved her. She no longer felt like she was on equal grounds with him. With one word, one statement, one command, he could control every fiber of her being.

"I'm sorry" he broke the silence, "I shouldn't have done that."

Sakura didn't bother to reply, instead she just ran out of the room as fast as she could down the hallway and out of the front door. Sasuke initially thought that she was just going to run downstairs and hide with her friends or something, but when he heard the front door slam he could feel the adrenalin in his blood pumping. She ran out into the open unprotected and it was a moment like this that Madara would absolutely _leap_ at. Sasuke grabbed his kusanagi from where it was leaning against the dresser and ran after her.

* * *

_**To Be Continued…**_

* * *

Again, I apologize for the long wait and for it not being as long as it normally is or longer, because of the long wait. I'll try to do at _least _two more chapters before the school year begins. Have a happy summer :)


	24. Let's See How Far We've Come

**Disclaimer:** I DO NOT own Naruto.

Hey guys! I hope you enjoy this chapter! I hope you remember to write a review for me at the end! I really appreciate them. Also how have your summers been? This will by my last chapter for a while cause I got to get a ton of summer assignments done. I still have an entire book with and assignment along with it and a math packet. I've only read one of my books for honor's bit lit, my book for AP gov/econ, and half my math packet. School starts on August 13th for me T^T I have orientation on the 8th… fml! Enjoy your youth while you got it those of you who are younger than me! I'm going to be a Sr. in high school and I started writing this when I was freshman! Being a Sr. doesn't feel too fabulous :/ I'm not excited really. Cause I'm still over weight, still not pretty, still get picked on. It's basically been freshman year all through high school for me. I guess college will be better cause you don't have "class participation" a.k.a "let me please humiliate you because I know you don't like to speak out in class."

SR. YEAR WITH NO DRIVER'S LICENSE HERE I COME! ^(-.-")^

* * *

"What was she thinking?" he mumbled to himself as he hurried down the crowded street hoping as best he could that no one would recognize the weapon on his lower back he was carrying.

He searched several back alleys as well since it would be easy for her to conceal herself in one of those. He even tried to use his chakra to focus it into the ring to find her, but she had inadvertently blocked his reaches. He was frustrated beyond belief. She was in her second trimester, soon to be her 3rd, and she was at an unbelievably high stress rate as well as physical activity, prime conditions for a miscarriage, or for Madara to kidnap her. At this point Sasuke didn't think he could avoid both. He was hoping with every fiber of his being that he could sure as hell try.

"I found her" Shikamaru walked up to him down an alley.

Sasuke spun around frantically, "where?"

"Well I didn't, my wife did."

Sasuke was relieved that she was with someone. The chances of her now being taken were much slimmer.

"But I think it best if you stay away from her" he said unbiased.

Sasuke gave him a quizzical glance before asking, "why? She's my wife."

Shikamaru scowled and gave him a harsh look as he said, "I heard what happened form Ino. That kind of emotional stress will trigger a miscarriage. You literally struck her with so much fear she felt she had to fight or flight. She's terrified of you. Ino can hardly get her to talk, even when she insults her, she just sits there and takes it. You need to keep your distance until she's doing better…"

Sasuke looked down at his sandals. Had he really been that awful? He supposed he had to break a spirit as strong as Sakura's. One command, one anger derived word, had ruined a completely happy relationship. He understood what Shikamaru was proposing and he agreed. Sasuke already assumed she would be staying at his and Ino's house seeing that Ino always took her in, in circumstances similar to the current one.

"Tell her I won't be home for a few hours if she wants to go ahead and get some cloths."

Shikamaru shrugged then asked, "Is Kakashi still staying with you?"

"I don't have much of a choice" he answered, "That's the whole reason Sakura and I were fighting. It'd be pointless now to kick him and the others out. I will if they get in the way though."

* * *

Sakura quickly ran into the house and grabbed a medium sized duffel bag out of the hall closet and ran into their room quickly throwing open drawers and stuffing in her bags as much as she could. Clean underwear, socks, bras, shirts, pants, and she was just going to keep the same sandals on that she'd been wearing. She grabbed some light makeup, threw it in a pouch, then into her bag. She was out the door in less than five minutes. Kakashi watched dismayed from the shadows. While Sasuke deserved the loneliness he was about to endure, he couldn't help but feel just a little bit sorry. His student's unfeeling, emotional constipation habit had always caused him a world of trouble with people and friends.

Sasuke had walked into the door about an hour later with bags in his hands. He set them all on the counter and started putting some of it in the fridge.

"Cook for yourselves, but clean up" were the words that left his mouth as he went back up the stairs and back into his bedroom.

It was obvious by the hullabaloo of disarranged, opened drawers that Sakura had already come to pick up her cloths. Sasuke was relieved that she'd at least gotten her basics that she needed. He was about to just go to sleep and hope that this was all a bad dream when he heard the ruffling of fabric. He stood back up and saw that he was sitting on a yukata lying out on the bed. Tonight was the festival and it was probably already starting. He felt bad that she probably wouldn't want to go because she didn't have this dress anymore. He gently put it over his arm and decided to walk across the street and ring the doorbell. The door opened and he caught a glimpse of pink hair and part of a green eye before the door slammed back into his face. He scowled wondering why she hadn't just decided to get someone else to answer the door instead of slamming it on him.

A few moments later Ino was at the door and asked, "What do you want?"

Sasuke picked up on her snarky attitude and held out his arm with Sakura's dress on it.

"Oh my!" Ino gasped, "Sakura!" she looked over her shoulder, "How could you forget to get this?"

Ino handed it to Sakura and Sasuke could hear the footsteps just inches from where he was standing on the backside of the door. He tried to forcefully push it open a littler, but Ino's foot behind it wouldn't let it budge. She was scowling at the failed attempt and then closed the door completely.

"Please leave Uchiha" were her last words before she strode off with Sakura into the bathroom to help her get dressed for the festival.

Sasuke didn't have anything to do that night so be was planning on just messing around with some strategy plans and possibly collaborating with Shikamaru, but then realized that he was probably going to take Ino to the festival as well. Hopefully Sakura could tag along with someone, probably Ino and pineapple-head.

"I should go too…" he though aloud to himself, not realizing a second presence.

"Should what? Go to the festival? And do what? Stalk Sakura?" Kakashi asked sarcastically pushing himself off the doorway and making his way over to Sasuke.

The Uchiha gave his teacher ran icy glare as he replied, "I can't just sit here not knowing if she's safe. If she doesn't want to see me that's fine, but I have to at least be able to see her."

Kakashi shook his head as he asked, "What happens if she sees you? If she detects her chakra signature? Or even worse, what if Ino finds you?"

Sasuke shrugged then went over to the closet to see if he had any festival cloths. He didn't. He decided on a plane old white t-shirt and dark black denim jeans.

"I can't just stay here feeling sorry for myself."

Kakashi didn't try to stop him because in a way he was right, however that didn't fix the fact that Sakura was still afraid of him. Watching her from a distance wouldn't fix much, Kakashi understood that much. It was important for now that Sasuke have a minimal appearance in Sakura's life until this business with the ring was over.

"Take it off" Kakashi said sternly.

Sasuke turned around with a quizzical expression asking, "Take _what_ off?"

"The ring."

"What about it?"

"Take it off."

"We're married, I can't do that."

"That's a sacrament to marriage then."

"How?"

"No man should hold the power to control his wife with a simple command. Why on earth would you do that?"

Sasuke sat on his window seal looking out towards the amassed crowd of people. He wasn't sure whether or not he wanted to reveal his reasoning with Kakashi. Knowing the gasbag he'd just go try and bargain with Sakura for Sasuke's unspoken forgiveness.

"I did it because if push came to shove she would never leave me behind."

Kakashi scratched his head then asked, "Why would you want her to?"

"Because when it comes down to it it's very possible I might die, and Sakura won't leave me behind. If I have to lay down my life I won't think twice, but I already know she won't accept my sacrifice and both her and my child would die because of it. The ring is infused with my will. If I tell her to run away and out of danger, she'll have no choice. I wasn't intending on the ring to do that to her earlier, I need to learn to control it better."

Kakashi sighed a little inside but kept a stoic face on the exterior as he analyzed what his student was saying. If what Sasuke said was true then he really did have a huge problem on his hands. The Uchiha never _ever_ doubted his abilities. Kakashi looked out the same window as Sasuke as they saw the pinkette and Ino leaving the house with Shikamaru in toll.

Sasuke put on his sandals then turned around to Kakashi and said, "That's my queue to go."

Kakashi nodded as Sasuke leaped out the window and out of sight. He was a master at concealing his chakra, however he doubted that he would be able to stay out of sight the whole night. He just went downstairs to see Naruto playing cards with Yamato and Sai. Kakashi took the liberty of making dinner, but put the rest of them on clean up duty. Eventually the grey haired man felt compelled to go to the festival himself just to make sure nothing was going to go down between Sasuke and Sakura. The boy was a bit possessive.

* * *

Sasuke watched Sakura while he was sitting up in a tree. He watched her trying to catch a fish with a paper paddle hoping it wouldn't break. The fish proceeded to flop off the paddle ripping the paper and splashing her yukata in the process. Sasuke let a smirk show on his face. These things just always seemed to unfortunately happen to the pinkette. He then decided that she was eased enough for him to scootch up closer for a better view. He put the hood of his hoodie up and jumped down from the tree and trailed along side them but behind the stands. Sakura was much too focused on the commotion and her friends to realize the hooded figure behind the stands. Eventually Sasuke had to stop and lean himself up against a Takoyaki stand while Sakura tried to win a mask from one of the vendors in charge of the game where the rings are thrown at the glass bottles. Sakura was out of luck though and didn't win anything, but she didn't seem to mind as far as Sasuke could tell however he almost lost his cool when she turned around and he had to hoof it behind the wooden stand on the other side. He wasn't sure if she had seen him, but if she had he might get into an even worse mess. Luckily Sasuke turned the other corner to see the copy ninja walking down the dirty path with Sakura and reading one of his raunchy novels at the same time. Sasuke wasn't sure what his former sensei was getting at but Kakashi's company was not at all relaxing when he realized that Kakashi might explain the situation to Sakura that he had earlier.

Eventually Sasuke tailed them and when he was deep in the brush he threw a local nut that grows in the trees at Kakashi. The grey haired man knew Sasuke was there long before the nut was thrown but Sakura just looked mysteriously where Sakura had previously stood but dismissed it as an 'it fell from the tree' coincidence. Kakashi was going to ignore Sasuke's presence but the thrown object was going to be the first of many if he didn't go talk to Sasuke. He politely excused himself from Sakura as he turned the corner and walked into the brush where Sasuke jumped down from the tree and landed right in front of him. Kakashi didn't even flinch but looked up from his book rather uninterested.

"What did you tell her?" He hissed grinding his teeth while clenching his fists in his pockets.

Kakashi closed his book and returned it to a pouch on his waistband before looking up at his former pupil and asking, "Whatever do you mean Sasuke?"

"Stop talking shit."

Kakashi scowled as he replied, "I didn't tell her any of what you had told me earlier if that's what you were referring to. I was covering your ass because she was heading towards where you were standing when I jumped into the scene and diverted her attention. You're lucky."

Sasuke just scowled. He didn't particularly want Kakashi's help, even though it _did_ help him technically. He was just too prideful to say thank you in that situation. Both men eventually made a mutual decision to head back. Sasuke had had too many close calls and was exhausted. He figured that with Shikamaru and Ino, Sakura would be just fine, assuming she behaved herself. Both men headed strait to sleep when they returned home, but it was a more peaceful slumber for everyone else except Sasuke. He was so lonely in that two-person bed that he almost ached from the pain. He didn't know how long Sakura needed to come home, but he hoped she wouldn't take her sweet time doing it.

* * *

_**To Be Continued…**_

* * *

So here's another chapter to this saga I kinda wrote myself into a whole with the splitting up thing, but the drama adds tension to the epic ending! Anyways, I'd love it if you could write reviews. Try and see if you can predict what will happen! I won't tell you if you're right or wrong, it's just fun for me to see how many of you are close. Also Please check out my other story Love Like This. I'll be wrapping that one a little while after this one. I'm so close to finishing this one! You all will be so damn happy! I'm sorry it's taken like 3 ½ years, but it's been a journey in the making. Inserting pieces of my own life into my stories is what makes them personal and fun for you guys to read. I consider my life a bad sitcom. I almost feel like writing it into a script and selling it to TBS or ABC Family. Legit, I'm not even kidding. My friends say I should but it's all so fragmented idk where to start lol xD

I hope you all have had a great summer and are ready to go back to school! CAUSE I'M NOT!


	25. Better Today

**Disclaimer: **I DO NOT own Naruto.

So are you guys ready to go back to school? Really? Honest and Truly? HAH! I'm not. This is my last Saturday and I've had to spend it reading all day. It just dawned on me that I should upload another chapter of this. There are only a few chapters left so I hope you guys feel the climax and the anticipation! I'm so happy that I finally have this story just completely done. Out of my hair. I'll upload another chapter in about a weeks time. I'm sorry it's been a little over a week since I last updated this. I also have no clue what the freaking ferret I'm doing with my other story (Love Like This). I have an idea of how I want to end it but I just can't fit the pieces together right now. I have the next couple chapters planned out, but I hope you guys like both my contributions to the M rated community. I'll probably stick to rated T from now on because my sex scenes are just loosing their luster and they just don't do it for me you know? It's more fun to just leave it blank and let the reader imagine what happened o.o

AUGUST BE GOOD TO ME!

* * *

(play "better today" by ne-yo)

Sasuke woke up and slammed the snooze on his alarm clock. He didn't feel like getting up. He didn't want to say he was a miserable wreck but all he did was sleep, eat, and train. He had nothing else in his life right now that he could interact with happily but himself. Kakashi had entered his room upon hearing the alarm clock go off and face palmed himself. Sasuke laundry was strewn about his room as well as dinner plates from meals made a week ago. He really was a slob without Sakura around to clean up his messes. Kakashi wasn't a fan of being the maid, but in this situation he didn't feel like he had a choice.

"Will you at least bathe yourself so you don't smell as bad as your room? You really let this place go to hell." Kakashi chastised him as he was picking up sweaty shirts and pants and throwing them in the hamper near the closet.

Sasuke threw Kakashi an invective look then rolled out of bed into the bathroom without uttering one word. Taken aback by his recent behavior Kakashi almost wanted to literally slap some sense into Sasuke, but that wasn't his place. That was Sakura's job and she had to do it whenever she was ready. It had been almost two weeks since Sakura left and everyday Sasuke became more cold and apathetic. He was either growing impatient or back into his old monster from years ago that Sakura had miraculously tamed before.

"I've had it" Kakashi growled, "I'm not a fucking fairy with a magic wand, but I'm not going to sit here and watch everything deteriorate either."

With those angry words spewed Kakashi walked out the door to go to Nara's place. He needed to talk to Sakura in private and as soon as possible.

* * *

Sasuke was enjoying his searing hot shower just a little bit. He was so damn frustrated with the world and everything in it that he almost felt like beating the shit of the nearest living thing around him. He wanted to scold himself for thinking that way, but without Sakura around he had turned into a complete animal. He had digressed to primal instincts and wasn't himself. He hadn't seen any remnants of his brother for weeks, and the hideout up in the mountains still hadn't been touched or tampered with. Sasuke was growing on edge with anticipation. He felt that Sakura needed to be under his care and without him she had no chance of survival especially with _their_ child, _his_ son. Eventually Sasuke had to turn the hot water off because there wasn't any anymore and got dressed to go out to the nearest abandoned field or forest and train. When the time came, he _had _to be ready.

* * *

Ino heard the doorbell ring as she sensed who was at the door first. She was overly cautious about answering the door in case it was the Uchiha, but this chakra was definitely the son of the White Fang. Ino let him inside then gave him a rather suspicious look as she asked, "Tea?"

Kakashi nodded then said, "That sounds lovely, mind if Sakura comes down here and drinks some too?"

Ino knew this would happen. Someone was eventually going to have to mediate this giant fiasco, but of all people she didn't really expect Kakashi to do it. She was mostly expecting the goofball Naruto, Yamato, or even Sai with his unbiastness to do it. Though the geezer was a curveball for the situation she figured it was better than keeping Sakura coup'd up away from the Uchiha for extended periods of time. Every since the festival Ino hardly let Sakura out of the house because she knew the Uchiha would stalk her and that would put Sakura at high stress levels that she really didn't need at the moment.

"Sakura you have company!" Ino yelled up the stairs soon followed by petite and uncertain footsteps.

"Yo" Kakashi waved with a masked smile.

Sakura came flying down the stairs and into her sensei's arms. They stood there for a moment like that before Sakura parted the hug and just smiled up and him and went and sat in the dining room that was open view from the entryway.

"I heard you don't talk much anymore…" Kakashi asked with his arms crossed looking at the pinkette with mild intensity.

Sakura just fiddled with her thumbs looking at her feet as she whispered, "I just don't have much to say…"

"That's a total lie" Kakashi scowled as he leaned forward to lift Sakura's chin to look him in the face.

"I talked to Sasuke, I see him everyday, and he's a mess without you. You have to understand that he feels awful about what happened and he would apologize, but he doesn't want to unless your ready to accept it. He has a good reason for that ring that I can't tell you, but he never meant for it to be used in that way, and he's trying to figure out how to control his emotions so they don't control _you_."

Sakura softly removed Kakashi's hand off of her face and sat up and looked at him with indecisive eyes as she asked, "Will he ever do it again?"

"That's part of life Sakura, you just have to know that humans are flawed, especially people like Sasuke. Just give him a second chance. He isn't mad anymore, he's just a mess."

Kakashi knew he was lying through his teeth about the not being angry part. He was sure though that he wouldn't take it out on Sakura if he saw her, he would be extra cautious. Sasuke just didn't have reservations about taking it out on anyone else.

"Come home?" he asked her with somewhat of sorrow in his voice, "Whether or not you choose to accept it, Naruto and Sasuke are the most powerful ones here and the only ones capable of fully protecting you. You need to come be with us. As you get closer to giving birth your chances of being hurt or kidnapped sky-rocket."

Ino had been quietly listening in the doorway but she chimed in her two good cents as well, "I agree. I only meant to harbor you for a short few days until the real heat went away. You've been gone for too long.

* * *

(play "where'd you go" by fort minor. I know it's dumb that only the chorus applies to the situation, but it's a freaking good song)

Sasuke ran at the training post as hard as he could. He slashed it into mulch in a matter of seconds and moved on to the next post reducing it to ash with his chidori infused kusanagi. Eventually her mediated to regain some of his chakra before heading home. He walked through the door with the lights out in the whole house. He flipped the entryway light on to reveal the house as empty as far as Sasuke could see. He looked at the kitchen counter and saw two notes left for him.

The first read:

_Hey lame brain we went_

_out on the town for a few drinks_

_and some fun. We'll be_

_home late, so don't stay up_

_and wait for us dearest._

_-Sai_

The second note read:

_Don't fuck up_

_-Kakashi_

Sasuke could care less about the first note but scowled at the second note. It was like Kakashi was harassing him without any care in the world. It was practically rude considering that Kakashi had the guest room while the other two free-loaders took the living room couches as their beds. Sasuke just threw both notes in the trash and got himself a glass of water. He noticed a few things out of place and a few bags in the entryway and scowled.

"Are they moving in here?" he grumbled to himself thinking the freeloaders had brought in some extra luggage with them.

Sasuke put his empty glass into the kitchen sink and made his way upstairs. He peaked in the guest room and saw that Kakashi too had vacated the premises. It's not that he hated being home alone. It's just that he was home alone with nothing to do but wallow in his own misfortunes. He eventually made his way down the hall to his own room but felt his heart leap out of his chest. Hesitatingly, he reached for the knob of the door and waited a few seconds before stealthily slipping inside the room and deducing whom the presence belonged to. He nearly fell backwards when he saw the pinkette sleeping in the bed. He quickly resheathed his sword and tip-toed over to the window to see Kakashi on the roof of Ino's house using one hand to do a two finger salute before disappearing in a cloud of smoke. Sasuke was both happy and overwhelmed with the situation. He wanted to wake her up and talk, but he didn't want to scare her. He was also afraid that if she just woke up tomorrow morning and found him she would freak out. Sasuke just decided that the best course of action would be to lean up against the night stand on Sakura's side of the bed and try and wait till morning for her to wake so she couldn't run away from him.

* * *

Sasuke's alarm went off and he cursed to himself because he had inevitably fallen into a cold sleep, but the pinkette was still lying in bed when he opened his eyes. The only difference about her was that she was scowling because of the alarm. Sasuke quickly shut it off then went to take a shower hoping that it didn't wake her. However he didn't make it to the bathroom door before he felt eyes on him. He turned around and made complete eye contact with Sakura and it was a complete stand still. Sasuke was afraid to move, but it was Sakura who moved first. She just pulled the covers over her head and curled into a ball making a strange noise. Sasuke just raised a brow and walked over to the side of the bed. He almost lifted the covers when the girl leapt our from under them and landed on top of him pinning him to the ground.

"Listen here" she growled while his eyes went wide, "Don't _ever_ try and control me again or I will _CURB STOMP YOU!_"

Sasuke grabbed hold of her wrists and pulled her down on top of him kissing her. He finally had his old wife back. He didn't need to vocalize a reply to that statement because he felt that the kiss was enough, however he did pick her up and throw her onto the bed then crawled on top of her.

"Sasuke!" she gasped, "Seriously?! I'm in my third trimester! How am I attractive enough to do this?"

"You're pregnant, not fat" he repeated to her for the how many millionth time now.

He kissed up and down her legs and arms then worked on her neck as he disrobed her of her oversized t-shirt. He saw a few stretch marks on her belly, but they weren't nearly as bad as she had made them out to be before. They had almost faded because he assumed she was using a ton of lotions and ointments.

"You know that this is actually healthy?" he growled in her ear while he took of her panties and bra.

Sakura blushed as she remembered why and replied, "yeah" with a gulp.

Sakura knew as soon as she went to sleep that they would interact with each other when she woke up. She just wasn't expecting a full on sexual assault. She knew it was healthy, because by having sex it softened the cervix which made the dilation of child labor that much easier. Sasuke picked up her arms and wrapped them around his neck, but Sakura couldn't keep them to herself, she soon took off his shirt and ran a hand down his washboard abs. Sasuke responded by grabbing one of her now generously sized breasts and massaging the nipples with his thumb. Sakura arched her back as best she could without bumping Sasuke off her due to the sheer size of her abdomen now.

"You happy to be back now?" he asked her in her ear before nibbling on her pulse cause a slight moan to escape her lips, "I'll take that as a yes."

Sasuke moved a hand over her round tummy down to between her legs. He already felt how moist she was and figured she didn't need fingering to get any more lubricant. Sasuke took off his boxers, which was all that was left on him and nestled in between her legs. Sakura moaned in ecstasy as she felt him sink inside her for the first time in a long while. They hadn't really done too much in terms of sex since they'd gotten there. Sakura realized just how much she missed this part of their lives together and how much she needed it back. Sasuke too was wound up beyond belief, but he soon felt 80% of his stress fade away as he unloaded inside of her. Sakura didn't actually have a chance to go yet so Sasuke resorted to nibbling on her clitoris and gently rubbing her nipple until she too seemed to explode.

Sasuke looked down at the sheets and made a mental note to take care of them. Sakura just panted and spread out on the bed. Sasuke laid down beside her resting a hand on her stomach, it had been a while since he was able to feel his son. He activated his sharingan just to get a closer look, but he felt Sakura cringe.

"I'm just looking at him" he said with a slightly concerned face.

He did feel Sakura ease up a little, but he made a note to be careful with that ability since she seemed to absolutely hate it. It's not his fault that he wanted to catch a sneak peak at his son. He could tell by the formation of almost all the body parts that it was only a matter of a few weeks before he'd be popped out.

"Are you excited?" he asked Sakura curiously.

Sakura just smiled and nodded as she explained, "It's hard to describe, but carrying a developing creature inside you is inexplicably one of nature's most underrated treasures. The further along I get and the larger I feel him grow, the more impatient I become for him to come out.

Sasuke felt a little pressure deep in his gut. He still hadn't told Sakura about the hideout in the mountains where she'd have to give birth, or at least, she didn't understand all too well what the situation was.

"You do know what's going to happen, right?"

Sakura looked over at him with pleading eyes, "What?"

"You're going to have to give birth in secret up in the rock cavern of a mountain. You can't stay in a hospital. It's too penetrable."

"I… I don't think that's a good idea…" Sakura muttered.

Sasuke shook his head as he argued, "Ino knows as much about childbirth as you do, and you can even explain a few things she doesn't know along the way if you absolutely have to, but I've taken the liberty of setting up the hideout myself and purchasing the necessary tools. That's where we'll be headed when you head into labor."

Sakura felt an extreme uncertainty inside herself at the situation. Why couldn't she give birth like a normal woman? She knew that if she were inside the gates of Konoha she would be able to be secure inside the hospital with anbu black-ops obviously stationed outside the doors, but in a civilian town where they had to keep their cover that was no longer an option.

"I know your scared" he whispered in Sakura's ear as he scootched up behind her, "But I'll be right there to help and protect you, Naruto too, and everyone else. You have nothing to worry about."

"I really hope so…" she whispered before resuming her previous slumber.

Sasuke just decided to take the shower he was going to earlier and making a few last minute arrangements at the hideout before proceeding with what they all had planed.

* * *

"She doing better now?" Shikamaru asked as he approached Sasuke while training.

Sasuke wiped some sweat from his brow replying, "A lot better, but she spends most of her time in bed because she's exhausted from holding it in this long."

Shikamaru made a humorous 'hmph' before saying, "I can't wait till you have a kid Sasuke, you'll know the meaning of exhausted. She keeps it for 9 months and you get it for the rest of its years."

Sasuke just shrugged grunting, "I don't really care. I want a kid, and Sakura isn't as irresponsible as Ino, no offense. She wouldn't just dump the kid completely on me. She'd sooner do it all herself before she did that."

"Then why don't you take a few days off to spend with her? She really needs you in these final weeks, ya know?"

Sasuke rubbed his shoulder saying, "She just yells at me and tells me she can do it herself. I just don't want to mess with her."

"Then spend your time doing something else besides training. You've built yourself up enough, but you aren't going to have enough energy when the time comes to protect her if you keep doing this incessant training."

Sasuke knew he had a point. He was about to call it a day anyway. He really did feel like he could use a few extra z's and some TLC (Tender Loving Care, not The Learning Channel .). He already had the final preparations at the hideout ready for their baby's arrival, and Ino had personally been learning about childbirth from Sakura to have maximum efficiency. When Sakura is in the process of giving birth she can't give a medical lecture on what to do because she'll be in irrational pain.

Everyone already knew the plan of action as soon as Sakura went into labor Sasuke would alert Shikamaru with a throwing knife or shuriken and speed off towards the destination. Ino would be the first to arrive as a first responder along with Shikamaru after alerting Naruto to tell everyone else to meet them there. However Sasuke already knew that nothing ever went as planned. He just hoped that the ring would go as planned if he had to use it in that manner. He couldn't live with himself if something happened to Sakura or his child.

Naruto eventually came by and decided to do some taijutsu sparing with Sasuke for the benefit of both of them. Sasuke had no objections since he needed a good challenge anyway. Though they were breaking the rules by fighting without someone to intervene of enough skill level such as Kakashi, they weren't using their chakra, so they felt they had a justification. Shikamaru just took a seat in the shade to watch the two beef heads battle it out. He wasn't a fan of skirmishes but found fighting like a chess game. He had no place in this fight though, and he knew it. The ultimate victor wound up being undecided as usual since both participants collapsed in the grass panting without any strength left.

"I could kill you where you lie right now" A husky voice sounded from behind them all.

All three boys spun around to see Madara himself standing there with Itachi at his side.

"While it would be easy to get you all out of the way as the opportunity has presented itself, I don't find it nearly as amusing."

Shikamaru didn't take this guy seriously for one minute and turned to go get the others for immediate help he was stopped cold in his tracks.

"I see you there" Madara cooed looking over his shoulder, "Leave and these two _will_ die. I only came here with one intention."

"And what's that?" Naruto asked grinding his teeth in a fighting stance.

"To terrorize your thoughts" was his reply, "I won't kill you because I want you to watch me steal you child, slowly kill your wife, and annihilate _all_ your friends.

"Give it your best shot" he growled, "I can't even take you seriously with that ridiculous mask on."

Madara seemed to tense a bit at the insulting come back but withheld his ground as he said, "You better be on edge you know. I could cut open your wife again, and this time the baby will live seeing how far it is along in its development cycle. Don't doubt my prowess Uchiha. You saw what happened the last time."

As soon as those last words left the man's mouth they both disappeared in a cloud of smoke, which Sasuke figured meant they had retreated, but he didn't let his guard down for one second on the way home. He wasn't as freaked out as he was when he first saw Itachi, because now he'd lived with the acceptance of an imminent threat. He just didn't want to alert Sakura about its full extent until it was necessary.

* * *

_**To Be Continued…**_

* * *

As I've mentioned before this story is completely written out now. Like the ending, the words "end" on paper (on Microsoft Word actually, but who gives a shit). This is the 3rd to last chapter. RELISH IT! REVIEW IT! ENJOY MY GENIUS! ^_^


	26. Hold My Heart

**Disclaimer: **I DO NOT own Naruto.

OMG! You guys are going to hate me for the cliff hanger at then end. Well, I hope you don't hate me! I'm so glad I hae this pre-written! You have no idea! AP Government is INSANE! I've literally been working on it all day and it's like 11pm not and I'm still doing it. Although I've had a shitty day as it is. I couldn't hardly get any studying done cause my dad's friend who's staying with us has two children middle elementary school age (worst age EVER. They get into EVERYTHING!). If I wasn't stopping them from getting into my personal belongings or messing with my 1981 Alvarez guitar that's my pride and joy, they were bombarding me with incessant questions that kept me from reading my textbook at all. The thing that probably bothered me the most is the fact that they thought I was 12? Wtf? I'm almost 18! Jebus! Anyways, I look 15 at the lowest, so I was just completely insulted .

Either way, This is probably one of my favorite chapters. It conveys a lot of emotion, but not character breaking emotion. Sasuke finally uses the real purpose of the ring?! What shall become of everyone! READ AND REVIEW THIS SHIT! ^(^0^)^

* * *

Sakura woke up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night. She didn't know what was wrong with her but she at least wanted to get the nasty sweat off of her so she could feel clean. She was becoming more of a clean freak than she usually was. It even crossed over into her personal hygiene. Sasuke wouldn't have minded as long as it didn't give her weird tendencies to do laundry at two in the morning and be reckless by showering half asleep. Sasuke awoke to the shower running and threw the covers off and trudged into the bathroom. The other condition due to her late 3rd trimester progress was that all doors were to remain unlocked just to make it easier to get to Sakura if she suddenly had something happen. Sasuke was less than happy when he walked up to the shower and swooped the curtains to the side with his glare dead set on the pinkette.

"You don't seriously expect me to sleep all nasty do you?" She asked sheepishly.

Sasuke just crossed his arms not caring about the stray droplets landing on himself muttering, "I don't expect you to sleep _at all_, honestly. But A little forewarning that you're getting in the shower would be nice."

"Why do I have to tell you my business?" She asked scowling back at him.

"Because you're vulnerable. You _are_ my business. Just tell me next time. I don't care if you wake me up."

Sakura just scowled and closed the curtains in his face, "A little privacy please."

"Grow up…" Sasuke grumbled as he walked back into the room and flung himself back onto the bed.

The past month was the most tiring part of the pregnancy he'd ever experienced. Sakura was usually low maintenance, but lately she had been demanding of all his attention. Not directly, of course, but still she had to be watched constantly and that wore Sasuke out. He too sometimes wished that it could be a common pregnancy with no strings attached besides the usual risks. He could only imagine how Sakura felt constantly under the falcon's watch of her friends _and_ her foes. It was probably twice as tiring.

* * *

"You want lunch?" Sasuke asked from the stairway walking into the kitchen.

He was watching Sakura at the table hard at work on medical papers she'd brought with her and was taking care of via messenger hawk seeing that no one back home whom she worked with knew where she was. She was also going over some last second details with Ino about the severing of the umbilical chord and delivering the placenta and making sure no other tissues were left behind in the process. Sakura was lucky to have another medical-nin with her because it made things a lot easier. Chakra had given the grace of healing that none other could. She was sure her vaginal walls would be torn as well as some stray tissues in her uterus, among other difficulties. It was much easier for a medical-nin to take care of these things than a traditional nurse, midwife, or doctor. Sakura would've only gone to give birth in a regular hospital on the island for the sake of comfort because she'd rather give birth in a bed than on a rock, but that wasn't a luxury she could afford.

Sakura and the blond looked up at him with quizzical glance, but Sakura answered first, "I'm _starving_!"

Ino chimed in with, "Just some tea and a few crackers with peanut butter for me please."

Sakura had been noticing lately how much she'd been eating but she was determined to train it off post childbirth if she could help it. She didn't want to loose control of her body. Having a fit physique was absolutely necessary for a kunoichi.

Sasuke set to work making something for lunch. He served Ino first since her order was the simplest. Then he went and made Sakura a turkey and lettuce sandwich with some chips, which she completely devoured in under a minute. She was still hungry so Sasuke threw her a few tomatoes.

"Why?" Sakura asked annoyed.

Sasuke looked over his shoulder while cleaning up some plates and said, "It promotes good eyesight for both of you. Just eat it."

Sakura scowled but she was so hungry that the sour taste she'd always hated about tomatoes didn't bother her much. It was amazing how hungry one and half individuals could be. Sakura eventually finished her paper work and Ino had gone back home with a few medical books Sakura loaned her, and the pinkette just fell over asleep. Of course as soon as she hit the ground the Uchiha instantly appeared form upstairs and right in front of her sleeping form. He shook her awake, not knowing if she was sleeping or passed out, but he soon realized she had collapsed from fatigue. Sasuke went to get some cold water from the kitchen sink and gently sprinkled some on her face.

Sakura squirmed and slowly opened her eyes to realize her head was resting in Sasuke's lap, "What's wrong? What happened?"

"You blacked out."

Sakura rubbed her eyes and the water off her face and sat up grumbling, "I don't know what happened."

"I think you should take it easy for the next few days. You've been spending most of your time poured over those papers."

Sakura nodded and the Uchiha carried the girl upstairs into their room. He laid her in the bed and realized that the sun had already begun to set.

* * *

Sasuke awoke in the middle of the night to an empty spot on the bed next to him.

"_Is she taking a shower again?..."_ he thought to himself, but soon realized there was no water running in the house.

There was only complete silence. Too much silence to be real. Sasuke sat up and looked around the room and jumped out of his skin when Itachi's face appeared in the window. Sasuke reached for his Kusanagi despite only having his pants on and nothing else to hold it in. He was about to lunge through the window if it weren't for the sound of broken glass downstairs. Dreading the outcome Sasuke fled down the stairs to find Sakura dropped on the floor and a shattered glass with a puddle of water next to her. Just to make sure he wasn't mistaken he looked around to see if any of the windows were broken, but he didn't see any damage to the house.

Sakura suddenly cried out in pain, "It hurts! _Sasuke_! It's happening!"

Sasuke was a little taken aback by the situation. It was suddenly becoming all too real for him. He tucked the kusanagi behind him with a leather strap and reached down the pick Sakura up completely ignoring the broken glass. He slipped his shoes on by the door instantly but suddenly he was overcome with dread.

"_Itachi's just on the other side of this door…"_ he growled mentally as he gritted his teeth.

Sasuke decided if he was leaving his house he'd make a grand exit, and alert all those in the house and his group that it was an emergency. Sasuke wove the hand-signs for fireball jutsu and blasted the front off of his house, completely off. His suspicions were right as he felt himself being pursued by Itachi. He did have time though to reach in his pouch and throw a kunai through Shikamaru's window, which was sure to wake him and a few neighbors. Sasuke fled into the woods towards the mountain praying he would reach the barrier in time. However he encountered a pleasant surprise as Kakashi suddenly appeared in a cloud of smoke beside him.

"Yo"

Sasuke scowled then sneered, "Is that really the time and place for that? I'm glad you showed up, but cut the crap. We have a problem."

"I know."

"What should we do?"

Kakashi scowled ahead and he said, "You focus on Sakura. Help her breathe properly until we reach there and minimalize her pain, I'll keep focus for Itachi. Sai and Naruto are already trying to slow him down in order for the others to get there. Ino and Shikamaru and probably passing them and are on their way to us right now."

Sasuke nodded. Things were actually going a little bit better than what was planned.

* * *

By the time they reached the barrier everyone had slipped through but Itachi had disappeared. Sasuke set Sakura down on the rock slate inside the cavern after laying down Naruto's jacket Kakashi had a shirt to put down as bedding as well. Sasuke also gave up his own shirt as a blanket. Hoping that Itachi had no intention of returning Sasuke focused solely on Sakura. Ino was there in a matter of minutes afterwards with Shikamaru in toll.

Ino set the giant medical pack down the grabbed Sakura's hand, "Everything's going to be okay sweetie."

Ino immediately spread a quilt over Sakura's lower half and removed her clothing then spread her legs and asked all other men besides Sasuke to leave. Everyone abided except for a last minute plea by the girl.

"No…" she whispered, "I want Naruto and Kakashi to stay too…."

Sasuke didn't really have any objections with that. They were two of the closest people in her life. He couldn't imagine her making them leave anyway. Sasuke nodded at the two stragglers signaling his acceptance of Sakura's request. Ino set to work while everyone else was on guard outside.

"If you guys are going to stay in here then help me" Ino barked at them with desperation as she tried to get everything ready.

Everyone nodded as Ino started a general examination then concluded, "She's 9 inches dilated already. One more and she'll start to deliver. Sasuke make this container of water hot, Kakashi help sterilize these tools, Naruto hold Sakura's hand and let her squeeze the shit out of you."

Naruto gulped in somewhat terror Sakura wasn't like an ordinary woman in strength, she had such strength that she could grind his hand into a fine powder, but he figured if he infused his hand with some extra chakra to combat her strength then he could take one for the team. Kakashi was about to lay the sterilized tools out on the cloth when he heard an explosion. Both him and Sasuke ran outside to see Itachi and Madara standing at the edge of the barely in tact barrier.

"How much longer do we have?" Sasuke asked grimly.

"I wouldn't give that barrier another 30 seconds."

And sure enough just moments later it fell and dispersed leaving everyone open to attack.

"I told you not to underestimate me, Sasuke" Madara malevolently growled, "Consider my generous gesture of waiting until your wife gives birth my gift to you."

Sasuke almost went wild with rage if weren't for Kakashi's hand on his shoulder, "Stay calm, he's trying to throw you off. Don't make the first move."

Sasuke took a deep breath then activated his mangekyou sharingan and drew his kusanagi. He solidified his stance then said, "You have to kill me first."

Madara laughed as he suddenly disappeared soon enough he heard screaming in the cavern behind him. Sasuke instantly ran towards Sakura's painful screams and Ino's screams of terror as Itachi appeared in the entrance of the cave. Naruto was the first to respond by a shadow clone coming up out of the ground and knocking him back.

"Set up a new barrier!" Ino screeched, "Before I completely _**lose**_ it!"

Sakura had tears streaming down her cheeks as she cried out in pain. Sasuke couldn't stand there long, but he saw the finger lines in the rock, he had to protect her from pain that wasn't necessary.

"Deliver that baby as if your life depends on it" Sasuke grunted at Ino before he shot off towards the battle with Itachi.

"No!" Neji reprimanded Sasuke, "You've fought your brother once before already, you're fight is with Madara. We'll restrain him and deal with him later."

Sasuke nodded and shot off to the top of the mountain where he knew his ultimate test awaited him. Little did he know Naruto was right behind him.

"So I see you've accepted your fate" Madara grinned sinisterly.

"Your fate's about to end_ right __**here**_!" A voice mocked Madara from behind Sasuke.

The boy didn't have to turn around to know Naruto was standing behind him. The two boys engaged in the fight together soon found out the hard way that Madara only solidified his form to plant an attack. Naruto cleverly planted shadow clones behind Madara and baited him to attack. As soon as he did Naruto's clones restrained him and he was unable to render himself transient again. Sasuke then used his Chidori stream to strike right though Madara's chest. Sasuke heard gurgling sounds but Madara still didn't fall to the ground or die.

"Are you immortal or something?" Naruto asked angrily.

Madara chuckled as he said, "There is a power only graspable by the Uchiha, young Uzumaki, and you stand no chance."

Sasuke then tensed as he realized the situation and yelled, "Naruto go back! This is no longer your fight. You'll die if you stay here."

"Why!" The blond shouted as he activated his sage mode.

"He's using a forbidden technique called Izanagi. It's the same thing Danzou used, but in Madara's hands this could render him invincible."

Naruto gulped and felt obligated to stay with his friend until the end, but it would be easier to take care of Itachi first, so Naruto did what his friend wished him and returned to the others.

"Fool, you can't take me alone."

"I can sure as hell try" came Sasuke's bitter reply.

The two lunged at each other with swords drawn and metal clashing like lightning.

* * *

Itachi had easily been restrained since he was fighting the jutsu himself. He told them that he didn't want to come back to life with this inexplicably evil ability, he's just rather lie in the grave Sasuke put him in. Everyone pitched in in tying him down with immobilizing chakra ropes and binding him to Kakashi's dogs to take care of if he were to move and inch. By the time Naruto arrived Itachi scowled and gave him a vicious look.

"Why did you leave my brother?" he asked angrily.

Naruto crossed his arms and muttered, "Something about Izanagi and not standing a chance… he told me to leave him."

Kakashi started rushing up the rocks as soon as he heard the word "Izanagi." That jutsu was bad news and Sasuke was right in sending Naruto away. Only Sharingan users can combat the illusion Izanagi creates. By the time Kakashi had reached it up the mountainside Sasuke looked like he's been bloodied to a pulp, but was still standing. There were scorch marks all over the rocks from both regular chakra flame and amaterasu. Madara was lying in a pool of black flames and Kakashi assumed that the fight might have very well been over.

"Take me to her" Sasuke panted has he leaned his arms on his knees hunched over.

Kakashi looped Sasuke's arm over his shoulder and around his neck and helped him down the mountainside. By the time he reached the rock cavern the baby was wrapped in Naruto's jacket and Sakura was holding him, crying. Ino had already finished all post medical procedures and was standing outside to greet them.

Sasuke immediately went inside and collapsed next to the rock Sakura was laying on.

"I… I didn't know if you were coming back…" Sakura whispered as she sobbed.

Sasuke pulled himself up to the rock as Ino started healing some of the wounds on his back. He looked at their child's face. He had onyx hair and green eyes. Sasuke ran a hand over the side of the baby's face as he let a smile show on his face.

"I'm proud of you" he whispered in Sakura's ear as he let out a small grunt of pain as Ino healed his deeper wounds.

Only a few moments passed by before a figure appeared in the doorway, "Didn't I tell you not to underestimate me?"

Sasuke's eyes went wide along with everyone else as they spun around. Naruto was the first to lunge but missed as his transparent form came closer and closer to Sakura.

"Don't you _**touch**__ her!_" Sasuke growled clutching his sword, "I will _destroy_ you!"

Madara laughed, "Just like you did a few minutes ago? Look how well _that_ worked."

Everyone covered Sakura with their bodies and arms causing Madara to realize he wasn't going to take the baby this way.

He took a few steps outside then said, "Fine. Let's finish this then."

Sasuke got up and grabbed his side, but Sakura grabbed his arm pleading, "_Please_! You _can't_ go!"

Sasuke gently peeled her fingers off of his wrist as he said, "I _have _to. Ino, get her out of here."

Sakura fought with Ino but eventually Sasuke said, "cooperate" and Sakura felt her body stiffen but she managed to eek out the words "You said you wouldn't do this anymore!"

Sasuke let one tear slide down the side of his face as he replied, "I got that ring for a very moment like this. I'll protect you even if it means forcefully imposing my will on you. I won't let you die if I lay down my own life to save yours. Take Kohaku and get out of here."

Sakura's eyes went wide, "You already named him?"

"Hn."

With that last word, Sasuke left a sobbing Sakura and went outside to settle the score. He couldn't let anyone else get hurt in the process, so he had everyone else back off to a distance. As soon as Ino and Sakura exited the cave however, he saw Madara lunge for them and the baby.

"Your fights with _me_!" Sasuke growled intimidatingly as he counter attacked Madara's ambush on the two girls with a clash of magnificent force.

* * *

Mmmhh! A man who grows a heart! Gimmie some of that! It really is an evolution through the story seeing Sasuke grow a pair. I hope you guys have enjoyed it thus far! One chappy left! Love you all! It's been fun! Feel free to read my other stories as well! I'd really like to see all of my works being acknowledged, however my older two 50,000 word stories are shit, sorry. I wrote them in middle school and I'm almost a Sr. in high school now, so you can imagine how drastically my vocabulary, writing skills, and logic in general has developed.

Ja ne!


	27. To New Horizons

**Disclaimer:** I DO NOT own Naruto.

It's the finale! The end! OWARI DA!

I hope you all enjoy my eccentric ending of an epic story I've been writing since Freshman year 4 years ago! this is my child! My masterpiece of over 100,000 words! Admire me and all my glory! Also be sure to read and review! I recently got a job in addition to my AP and honors classes! It's at a Japanese sushi bar, but sadly they're all Indonesian and none of them speak Japanese, so I'm definitely a little bummed out, but hey, it's still an Asian restaurant and it's a THOUSAND times better than other remedial minimum wage jobs. Especially since I don't make minimum wage. I make $8/hour or more :) I haven't seen yet, but that's what my friend told me who's mother works with me! There are only 8 of us in the entire restaurant kitchen hands, waitresses and all. They're crazy. The owner walks around the place in the down hours playing his guitar. The kitchen chef speaks Spanish, and everyone else just yells at me in Indonesian. They even made me eat the head of a fish last night. The only downside is I literally broke up with my boyfriend of one and a half years a few days ago because everything was just falling apart, and this restaurant is literally right by his house and they eat there all the time. Not excited for that one, but I do see a lot of familiar faces with less bad sentiment attached to them. I saw my friend Max's parents there just last night. Oh and last night was my first night. My friend felt bad (the one I worked with at Bamboo) about me being fired because they over hired and I wasn't prettier than the other girl, so she talked to her mom and got me the job at the sushi place. So I work with my friends mom :)

PLEASE WISH ME LUCK IN MY SENIOR YEAR, JOB, AND LIFE! enjoy yours as well :)

Also I'm playing Guild Wars 2, so don't expect Love Like This to be consistently updated hah... :3

* * *

Everyone besides Ino and Sakura who were fleeing were watching at distance from the trees. No one was expecting what came next.

"Stop doing this! You can't do this on your own!" Sakura was shouting as Ino was trying desperately to drag her away.

(play "bring me to life" by thousand foot crutch)

Sakura tried as hard as she could to dig her feet and move towards Sasuke, to protect him, to help him, to repay him for all the protection he gave to her. She had to fight his will to prove that her own was just as strong.

"Stay back!" he shouted but soon wished he hadn't taken his eyes off of Madara.

Madara knocked Sasuke off his feet and onto his back and restrained him with a snake that was under ground going over his neck.

"_**NOOOO**_!" Sakura screamed louder than when she was in labor.

At that moment she knew it was do or die, and she quickly handed Ino her baby, "Guard him with your _life._"

Ino watched in shock as the ring on Sakura's finger shattered into thousands of pieces and Sakura ran full force towards Sasuke. Right as the Uchiha was about to yell one last warning at her he realized the ring had no affect and Sakura threw herself on top of Sasuke. Then there was complete silence. Everyone watched in shock knowing that if they dove in to help their fate would be the same. It took Naruto every ounce of strength to keep in sage mode and out of 9-tails man-beast form. Sakura had taken a stab right through her back and the blade almost sunk into Sasuke but Sakura managed to reach behind and grab the blade, slicing her hand, to keep it from further piercing into Sasuke.

"Why?…" Sasuke whispered angrily confused as tears ran down his face.

He swore he was an Uchiha man, and Uchiha men never cried. But to him, it was as if ¾ of his world was dying right before his eyes.

"You can't control me. The fate you were afraid of befalling me is the same I feel for you. I warned you to never control me again." Sakura then felt her eye lids become heave as she coughed up a substantial amount of blood onto Sasuke's chest.

"Useless" Madara grunted as he roughly pulled out his sword and Kicked Sakura off of Sasuke causing her to roll several yards away, "I wanted to save her for later as mental torture, but I guess that part of my plan is ruined."

Sasuke felt rage completely fill his entire being and the curse mark on his neck broke its seal and overtook his body completely. Sakura watched with half open eyes as Sasuke ripped the restraint off of his neck in half and lunged at Madara. Sasuke soon realized that he again was unable to grasp hold of the devious man. Sakura had lost most of her strength and allowed her eyelids to close though she still heard most of what was going on around her.

"Wait for it…" Naruto grumbled as he controlled his earth style underground shadow clones just waiting for an opportunity to present itself.

Sasuke then decided to play it on the defense and as soon as Madara went with one swing of his sword. Naruto's clones popped out of the ground and grabbed him. There were at least 20 of them holding Madara down. There was no way he was going to get away this time. The terror showed on his face as he struggled.

"You're not going to use your Izanagi, you know why?" Sasuke growled murderously, "Because I'm going to rip every eye off your body, like I should've done to Danzou. You aren't getting out alive."

Madara looked around panicked as Sasuke gruesomely started with the eyes on his face ripping out both his regular sharingan and rinnegan. Sasuke then used his kusanagi to cut Madara's clothes off and find where else he kept the eyes. Once every single one of them was removed Sasuke let a malevolent chuckle escape his lips.

"How does it feel to be blind? Is it fun? Is this torture funny to you now?" Sasuke began spitting rhetorical questions at Madara as he made small slices in the man's skin, pulling on his veins and arteries 'just for fun.'

"I would suggest none of you watch" Sasuke said up into the trees where he knew his friends were. Sakura was dead so he didn't bother addressing anyone else.

Sasuke reached down and grabbed Madara by the neck shaking him senseless then took a kunai and but his entire mid section. He pulled out Madara's digestive organs first while the man screamed irrationally in pain. Most weren't watching, but Kakashi was hardened by the war he was in and could take it, he just didn't understand Sasuke's blood thirst in that form. Sasuke then proceeded to slice out Madara's heard causing the man to cease his screaming but still have his eyes wide with terror.

"Your beating heart is _mine_!" Sasuke yelled as he crushed Madara's pulsing heart in his hands to sludge.

The man lay on his back motionless and everyone else turned around to see the carnage of the aftermath. Kakashi wasn't horrified, but definitely shocked. Naruto was appalled and everyone else just didn't have words to describe the inhumanity strewn in front of Sasuke.

Sasuke wasted no time in rushing over to Sakura's motionless body. He knew the simple truth that no matter how much he mutilated Madara's body it wasn't going to bring Sakura back. He had lost his world and only had his son left, or so he though. He heard a small wheeze and gasp. She was still barely alive.

"Ino!" Sasuke shouted at the top of his lungs.

(play "surrender to hope" by immediate music)

Sasuke had slowly transformed back into his normal state of being from the monster he had been in. He was holding Sakura's body and could still feel a small fading warmth from it. Ino handed Shikamaru the baby as she ran then slid in the dirt wasting not even a second in examining Sakura's body.

"She's barely hanging on… this shouldn't be possible…" Ino muttered.

"Why? What happened?"

"Her heart's completely torn to pieces from the stab Madara inflicted, but she's still managing to control her chakra flow to pump her own blood."

Sasuke looked wide-eyed at the carnage of the pinkette. She was a medical specialist, but even Tsunade didn't come up with that. However they were in the mountains away from any equipment to possibly reconstruct Sakura's heart and Ino wasn't nearly skilled enough to perform a procedure that complicated. Shizune at the least might be able to pull it off, but all the specialists were back in Konoha.

"There's no way we can get her back to the hospital at home in time…" Naruto said sobbing.

"Bring me my baby…" Sakura's gasped reaching outward blindly.

Ino hesitantly took the infant from Shikamaru and placed it in Sakura's arms even though the jacket was getting soaked with blood and inadvertently soaking the baby with blood. Sakura laid a kiss on the baby's forehead before she altogether couldn't speak and felt her life force fading.

Almost everyone had tears in their eyes. Everyone had respect for the pinkette and she was going to die saving what she considered her world.

"No…" Sasuke gasped with tears splashing down on Sakura's face, "This was supposed to happen to _me_! How am I going to raise a son all by _myself_? How am I going to be able to just pick myself up off the floor from _this_? How could you have been so impulsive! _WHY_!"

Everyone took a step back from the grieving Uchiha. All he could do was silently cry as he looked into the eyes of his dying wife. No one knew what to do, because there were literally no options. Ino was trying to stop some of the internal bleeding and numb Sakura to reduce some of the pain and make it more comfortable, but everyone had accepted her death, except for Sasuke.

"This isn't going to happen" he growled angrily clenching his fists so hard the blood dripped from them, "I told her that she wasn't going to die. I promised I'd protect her. I won't let it end here. I wouldn't be a man if I broke my promise."

"How are you going to get her to Konoha?" Kakashi asked dazed at Sasuke's persistence.

"Fly her" Sasuke grunted as he bit his thumb, ran it down his arm and slammed his palm on the ground.

A hawk suddenly appeared out of the smoke and Sasuke immediately picked up Sakura's body holding his child and hopped onto the hawk. The hawk sped off towards Konoha at full speed and he laid Sakura across his lap and took time to really look at his child for the second time that day. He didn't want to loose either of them. With Sakura dead the baby's chance of survival on formula wasn't very good and the baby would have lots of health issues as well. Sasuke also didn't want just one kid, he wanted tons more. He wasn't going to let his world end here.

"Please just hold on a little while longer…" he pleaded with tears still draining from his eyes.

Sakura couldn't speak but she nodded in acknowledgement of what he'd said. Her face was as pale as a ghost and while she wasn't externally bleeding anymore due to Ino's handwork, she was slowly loosing control of pumping her own chakra.

"Fly faster!" Sasuke shouted after a while feeling that the bird wasn't pushing itself hard enough.

What he didn't expect was his shouting to wake the sleeping infant in Sakura's arms. It was crying and screaming and Sasuke had no idea what to do. Sakura half opened her eyes and laid a hand on Sasuke's leg. In her own unspoken language Sasuke knew that she was asking him to hold the baby. Sasuke looked at the child unknowingly and picked it up. He felt himself melt and bit his lip as the baby nestled itself into his chest. Sasuke couldn't help feeling like everything around him was faltering and he wanted more desperately than anything to fly home as soon as possible.

Another hour went by until Konoha was in sight. Sasuke didn't even realize that flying was the fastest and most efficient way of transportation and wish he's though of it earlier before he started crying.

"FASTER!" He shouted in absolute rage.

Though it was his summoning companion, the bird excused his behavior considering the circumstances. As soon as the hawk landed on the roof of the hospital Sasuke rushed Sakura and the baby inside and luckily Shizune was the first person he ran into. She didn't even ask what or why but dropped all her papers and escorted them into the nearest possible room. Shizune slammed on a red button by the door, which essentially paged Tsunade. The button was rarely used because Tsunade hated being summoned, but in this circumstance Shizune didn't have a choice. Shizune handed the baby to Sasuke with a nod and laid Sakura out on the table and pushed him out of the room and closed the door. Sasuke felt helpless standing in the hallway with a newborn and his dying wife on the other side of the thin piece of metal.

"Please allow me to help you" a nurse standing next to Tsunade gestured holding her hands out for the baby.

Tsunade was giving Sasuke a hard look before bursting into the operating room turning the 'in progress' light on which basically meant 'enter here at the risk of loosing your life.' Sasuke gave the woman a weary look and through his standstill gesture essentially refused to hand his son over to the nurse.

"Very well" she said smiling, "Just follow me and I'll show you what we can do."

Sasuke followed the woman down the hall until they reached a maternity ward. She led Sasuke to a back room full of other newborn babies and she turned on some water.

"I'd rather do this part myself to avoid any injury to the baby, please."

Sasuke was hesitant, but eventually handed Kohaku over to the woman and she put him on a form fitted foam pad and washed him very carefully, then took him out, wrapped him in a towel. Took care of a few other health procedures, but a plastic band around his ankle, fed him a bottle of formula, and put him in an atmospheric crib.

Sasuke didn't want to leave his child here, but it appeared he didn't have a choice. They needed to get medical records on him and generate a birth certificate.

* * *

Sasuke felt useless as he sat outside the operating room on the floor. It had been almost five hours that they'd been in there. He didn't know if the procedure was time consuming or they were grieving and didn't have the heart yet to come out and tell him she was gone. He was desperately hoping it was the first one. He was still wearing his bloodstained cloths and was too afraid to get up and go take a shower and put new cloths on. He just wanted to at least hear that Sakura was ok. If he could only hear those words his world would suddenly be calm again. Sasuke soon found himself completely worn out asleep against the wall.

* * *

Sasuke woke up in a cold sweat and panicked. He was laying in a hospital bed in a medical gown and his first instinct was to rip the IV out of his arm and go back to where Sakura was.

"You rip that IV out and leave and I'll give you a forced vasectomy" came a voice on the other end of the room.

It was Tsunade dressed in her usual cloths instead of the surgical scrubs she was in earlier.

"What happened to Sakura?" Sasuke asked.

Tsunade got up and sassily walked up to him and got right in his face retorting, "I should ask you the same thing."

Sasuke looked away from her ashamed but finally grunted, "Is she alive?"

"Very much so"

Sasuke felt a thousand pound weight being lifted off his stomach and the fog being lifted from his mind.

"Now what happened?" Tsunade asked sitting on the hospital bed next to him.

Sasuke took a deep breath then said, "We ran into Madara and Itachi. Madara had used Kabuto's technique of impure world resurrection to bring my brother's soul back to this plane, and we fought both of them. I told Sakura to flee with the baby and the ring I put on her finger made my request an order and she and Ino were fleeing when suddenly the ring burst and she came running for me and took the killing blow in her back in my place. Madara kicked her off and I went completely insane. I tore him to shreds, literally. Then we all though she was going to die, but I flew her here anyway."

Tsunade sighed and said, "She's going to be in recovery for several weeks, but she's alive. You were almost done in yourself. You're over concern for her almost caused you trouble. I bet you didn't know you were still bleeding out. A nurse found you and escorted you to an emergency room."

Sasuke felt tears of relief leaving his eyes. He never cried this much, and he felt ashamed for it too. Men didn't cry, especially Uchiha men that were supposed to be tough.

"It's fine" Tsunade assured him, "You're crying right now because you're happy. That's not weakness like you men think it is. Crying because you're happy shows strength and appreciation."

With that the amber eyed doctor left to go check on her other patients but stuck her head in the doorway and said, "Don't forget to take your baby home."

Sasuke grabbed his bloodstained cloths off of the chair next to the bed and put them on and went to the maternity wing. They presented the Uchiha with his son's birth certificate and other official documents and also gave Sasuke some formula to use in lieu of Sakura's breast feeding. They also gave him a baby blanket and told him where to go shopping for everything he'd need.

* * *

Sasuke got many bizarre looks as he walked down the street, but he wasn't expecting one thing to happen, a certain blond duo coming up to help him.

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted, "We're all waiting for you back home!"

"How long was I out?" Sasuke asked disgruntled.

"Only a couple days." Ino said slapping him on the shoulder, "But we have a pleasant surprise for you!"

"I hate surprises…" Sasuke grumbled as he walked down the street with his son in his arms.

* * *

"_Surprise_!" They all jumped out at him with smiles on their faces, "We all pitched in and did something special for you."

"What might that be?" Sasuke asked just wanted to get this over with.

"Follow me" Ino said walking down a hallway.

When she opened the door Sasuke had mixed emotions. He was hoping him and Sakura could do it themselves, but he did appreciate the though. They had completely converted the guest bedroom into a nursery for the baby.

"We even bought you a baby intercom so you can hear it crying from the other room" Sai said holding up the childish looking radio.

"I don't know what to say…" Sasuke whispered in bewilderment, "I'm really touched."

"Here let me take care of the baby while you was up" Ino said holding out her arms.

Sasuke wasn't one to hand over his child to just anyone, but considering Ino help deliver and _protect_ his child, he didn't have to hesitate. Sasuke washed up and when he came back only Ino and Shikamaru were in his living room cooing over the baby, or at least Ino was.

"Oh!" she gasped as she finally noticed him in the doorway, "Thanks for letting me steal him from you. He's a real sweetie. I left you some written instructions on the table in the nursery that will instruct you on everything you need to know from feeding, changing, playing, bathing, to nap time. I was just about to put the tike down, unless you'd like to."

Sasuke cringed a little. He wasn't sure he knew was he was doing but he took the blanket from Ino and took his son out of her arms and escorted them to the door.

"He likes his formula warm by the way" Ino gave one last word of advice before leaving down the walkway with Shikamaru.

"Good luck bro" Shikamaru waved leaving the Uchiha quarter.

Sasuke went into the nursery and flicked on a nightlight and sat in a rocking char holding his son who seemed completely wide-awake staring at him. As soon as Sasuke sat down and started rocking in the chair until the boy's eyes slowly fell closed and Sasuke could read that his son's chakra patterns meant he was sleeping. Sasuke set him down carefully in the crib and went to look at the guide Ino had left him. He skimmed it quickly before leaving it back on the table and leaving the room.

* * *

It was the middle of the night when Sasuke realized that the baby was screaming due to the baby monitor on his nightstand. He flicked a lamp on and walked over to the baby's room to see what was the matter when a stench nearly knocked him out flat on the floor.

"You have to be kidding me…" he grumbled as he reached into the crib to grab his son and do what had to be done.

It was the beginning of many sleep-deprived nights for Sasuke.

* * *

One week had passed and Sasuke made his way over to the hospital with Kohaku on cradled in his arm and a diaper bag slung over his shoulder. It was awkward walking around town like that at first, but eventually he was just so tired that he didn't give a damn. He walked into the hospital and it was the first day Sakura was allowed visitors. They made their way into the room with a groggy Sakura there to smile at them. She first leaned over the bed to kiss Sasuke's check and then snatched her son from his arms. He just smirked as she held him above her head smiling in silence. She could speak but her voice was still raspy. Eventually she scooted over and signaled for Sasuke to roll in with her on the bed. There was barely enough room for the both of them plus the baby, but they managed to make a Kohaku sandwich. Sakura was so happy to have them both there to visit her. She knew the second she saw Tsunade bust through the door that everything was going to be ok.

"How are you feeling?" He asked her casually.

"Much better. Tsunade said that if I promised to stay in bed I could be an outpatient at home with the two of you."

Sasuke rested his chin on her head teasingly saying, "Guess we'll have to move the baby's crib next to your side of the bed, huh?"

"There's not need to do that" she teased him right back, "You can just bring him to me."

Sasuke ruffled her hair saying, "Hn."

A few minutes later Shizune opened the door to bring in the release papers, but closed it asking, "Sorry. Was I interrupting a private moment?"

Sakura laughed and replied, "Not at all, can we go home now?"

Sasuke brushed some hair out of her face planting a soft and tender kiss on her lips then whispering, "I'm not leaving here without you."

* * *

_**End**_

* * *

AKSDFIJWEKFJ! PLEASE REVIEW! I want final comments! :)


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